Annabeth's Take: The Lighting Thief
by Innoverse
Summary: The events of The Lightning Thief in Annabeth's eyes. If you haven't read the actual book, I don't recommend reading. This was written assuming that you've already read the actual book. Otherwise, it will make much less sense. Rated K since it's still Riordan's plot. Annabeth on the cover drawn by Princess-Hazel on deviantART.
1. I Spoon Feed a Stranger

**Hi there! Innoverse here, writing another fan-fiction. I know there are a lot of Annabeth's POV books, but few of them are GOOD. I mean, most don't have the entire book, or they just took what Riordan wrote and replaced 'he' with 'she.' That irritates me! That isn't writing, people! I've browsed the Internet looking for a good Annabeth's POV, to no avail. So, I starting writing this one out of boredom and nostalgia after reading my copy of the Son of Neptune for the fiftieth time. I'm going to do all five books (I might do the Titan's curse in Thalia's POV), and hopefully, I'm not going to get bored and bail out half-way through. I shall soldier on! **

**I'm posting six chapters all at once becuase I started working on this a while ago, so I'm about halfway through chapter seven already. Please note, it doesn't have as many chapters as the original book, since the first three chapters don't include Annabeth! There are also going to be some moments of my creation, since Percy isn't with Annabeth all the time(well, duh.) But anyways, I shall shut up now! Onto the story! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians! Heck, I don't even own the plot in this one. But, we can still enjoy Riordan's brilliance. Bask, my friends, in his glorious writing light!**

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**_- Chapter One: I Spoon-Feed a Stranger -_**

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I stood in the Big House with Chiron, who was looking nervously out at the storm that was circling around the Camp. We had just been talking about a special case Chiron had been working with—a boy he thought might need special attention. He had gone to his school for the past year, teaching him under a pseudonym, after Grover had found him and told the centaur. Now, the boy had been expelled, and Chiron was trying to figure out what to do with him next.

"Just tell him who he is, and bring him here," I suggested. "It's not called a demigod sanctuary for no reason." I wanted to see this boy, because if he required special attention... he just might be the demigod that I've been waiting for.

"I don't need to rush things, Annabeth," he chided. "Nor do you. I'm sure he'll be alright." From somewhere outside, I heard something that sounded suspiciously like sobbing. On a hunch, I poked my head outside of the door to the Big House, only to see a kid hauling someone down Half-Blood Hill, crying and shaking like he had hypothermia. He was soaked from the rain, and he gripped the person that he was carrying tightly, like he was afraid they would leave, too. As he got closer, I realized the person he was carrying wasn't exactly a person, but a satyr. Oh gods, it was Grover. Chiron poked his head out behind me. His face drained of color when he saw the boy.

"That wouldn't happen to be your special case, would it?" I asked him. He didn't answer. I watched the boy stumble up onto the porch, and put Grover down on the floor. He collapsed beside him, still shaking. He looked to be my age, with jet black hair, and eyes that were blank with fear. He was covered in scratches and bruises—with an especially large one his forehead, like he'd been slamming his head against walls in his spare time. Chiron and I walked over, and looked down at him. There no doubt that he'd seen a monster, judging by the wounds and look in his eyes, and since he was still alive...

"He's the one," I murmured to Chiron. "He must be."

"Silence, Annabeth," he said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside." With that, the boy's eyes fluttered closed, and he slumped over, not-so-conscious anymore. Chiron called Argus, and had him take the boy into the Big House while he dripped some nectar in Grover's mouth. Grover's eyes shot open and he bolted straight upwards, looking around. His eyes were slit-pupiled with fear, and he looked at Chiron and I hesitantly.

"Grover, what happened?" Chiron asked gently. I helped Grover get to his feet.

"The Minotaur..." he tried, "Struck by lightning... where—where is he?"

"He's unconscious. Argus took him to the sick room." Grover made a terrified bleat.

"No! I... I can't fail again..." He looked at Thalia's tree sadly.

"You haven't failed, Grover," Chiron assured him. "Now calm down, and tell us what happened."

"His... his mother's clear sighted," Grover murmured. "She knew what was going on... a-and tried to get him here but her car was struck by lightning. I... I passed out. I don't know..."

"Calm down, Grover," I said. "Whoever he is, he's not dead yet."

"B-But earlier today... at the bus station we saw the Fates, Chiron. They cut the string!" Chiron pursed his lips.

"Annabeth, go make sure Argus has everything under control. Grover, you said his mother was here? Go up to the Hill. She might still be there, for all we know." Grover nodded, and trotted back up to the pine tree. Chiron and I went inside to the sick room, where Argus had placed him on a bed, lying on his back.

"So, who is this, anyway?" I asked Chiron.

"His name is Percy Jackson," he said, looking over to boy with worry._ Percy?_

"Is that short for something?" I asked.

"Perseus," he said, frowning. I looked back at the boy.

"He looks like he's a got a nasty concussion," I commented.

"Then give him some ambrosia, please," he said. "I don't need a future camper to die on me, just yet." He wheeled his wheelchair out of the room, and left me with Argus, and an unconscious boy named Percy. I sighed—I'd had to take care of people in the sick room before, it wasn't very fun—and shoved a spoonful of ambrosia into the boy's mouth. Just then, Grover came in, and slumped in a chair beside me. He was holding a shoebox now, looking over the boy with concern and fear.

"What's that?" I asked, inclining my head towards the box. He opened it, and tilted the box towards me. Inside was a horn that was speckled in blood, and looked like it'd been... no, there was no way.

"He ripped off the Minotaur's horn and then stabbed him with it," Grover said. I looked at it with astonishment. "And he doesn't even know what a demigod is." The boy rolled over in his sleep, and mumbled something like 'Go away, I don't have any food.' A tiny bit of drool dribbled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Doesn't look like much, does he?" I muttered. Grover just sighed.

"I failed again, Annabeth," he said dejectedly. I patted his shoulder.

"No you didn't. He's still alive, isn't he?"

"He dragged me down a hill while he was about to collapse himself. I think I failed again, Annabeth."

"Hey, you got him here—"

"Half dead..."

"—that counts for something."

"The Cloven Elders aren't going to like this..." he said worriedly. "I need my searcher's license. And _I_ have to bring a camper here first... not have him drag me over the property line." He looked down dejectedly at the boy. "And I lost him at the bus station this afternoon... oh, this is all my fault!" He stamped his hoof, and folded his arms.

"Grover, I'm sure it'll be alright," I reassured. He looked even more depressed.

"And now... now his mother's dead, too," he said softly and sadly. I creased my brows.

"You don't know that, Grover. She could've just... left. She probably knows that she doesn't belong here if she knew who her son was."

"I... I don't know." Chiron wheeled back into the room on his wheelchair.

"You should both go get some sleep," he said. Grover nodded sadly. "It is alright, young satyr. He will live." Grover nodded again, though I was sure that wasn't the answer he had been looking for. I left the Big House, and trudged back to the Athena cabin, where I stayed with my brothers and sisters—well, brothers and sisters on the godly side, anyway. I changed into pajamas and sat on my bed tiredly.

"Why were you out so late?" Malcolm, my second in command, asked.

"New camper," I explained. "He's in the sick room in the Big House with a concussion."

"What happened?"

"He was being chased by the Minotaur, apparently," I said, thinking of the horn. All of my siblings turned to me, suddenly interested.

"How did he kill it?" one of my older siblings, Tracey, asked.

"He pulled off it's horn and stabbed it with it," I told them. The cabin gasped.

"The Minotaur?" Malcolm said. "That's impossible!"

"That's what I thought. Then, Grover showed me the horn. He left it on Half-Blood Hill," I said. All of her siblings looked amazed.

"Maybe we've got a new Athena camper, if he can pull that off," Malcolm said. I shook my head. All of the Athena kids had blonde hair and gray eyes.

"He's got black hair and green eyes. Plus, his mother's mortal," I said. "Now, that's enough questions. Lights out!" The lights blinked out, and everyone shuffled to their beds and slept.

For the next two days, I was on sick room duty, taking care of the unconscious kid. That was basically sitting in a room all day, spoon-feeding a stranger who drooled in his sleep. He kept muttering about barnyard animals and food—I figured that was probably from seeing Grover in his real form. It was kind of comical, listening to him rambling in his sleep.

Looking at this boy drooling and mumbling, I could think of a thousand places I'd rather be then sitting here. In my cabin, drawing blueprints. In the swords arena, sparring with Malcolm. Negotiating capture-the-flag with the other counselors. Talking to... Luke.

I blushed involuntarily. I'd had a crush on Luke for a while, it was kind of hard not to. With his bright blue eyes and blonde hair, half of the girls at camp had fallen for him. I'd known him for forever... since I was seven. He'd treated me like family. And since... he'd kind of grown on me.

"Kindly Ones..." the boy muttered as he rolled over in the bed. That caught my attention. Why would he be talking about the Furies?

"Museum... math teacher... Mrs. Dodds... sword..." he mumbled, creasing his brows in his sleep. What the heck was he mumbling about?

"Alive until summer solstice..." He shivered after he said that. Summer solstice? Did he know something? Why would Chiron tell him something and not me? He rolled back over onto his back, and I gave him another spoonful of ambrosia. While I was scraping the drips off of his chin, I looked up and realized his eyes were open. They were a mesmerizing sea green, and it was a bit startling. But I quickly found my voice again and jumped on my chance to ask him about the summer solstice.

"What will happen at the summer solstice?" I asked, looking directly into his eyes. All he managed was a weak croak.

"What?" I looked around nervously, because if Chiron overheard, I was sure he probably wouldn't be to happy that I was interrogating our new campers.

"What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!" His eyebrows creased in confusion.

"I'm sorry," he said, hardly able to speak. "I don't..." There was a knock on the door, and I shoved some more ambrosia in his mouth. I turned around, only to see Grover. Luckily, when I looked back at the boy, he had passed out again.

"Hi, Annabeth," he said, and sat down in a nearby chair. He looked at the boy sadly.

"How well did you know him?" I asked. Grover sniffled.

"I'm his best friend."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. Oh," he said dejectedly.

"Hey, he's going to be fine," I reassured. "He even woke up for a moment, but passed out again." That didn't seem to cheer Grover up much.

"I didn't help him at all," Grover said sadly. "Just... just like Thalia. Someone always ends up dying!" He moaned pitifully.

"Grover, you did the best you could," I said. "Sometimes that's all we can do." Grover still looked depressed, but I didn't have any more time to cheer him up, because Argus walked in.

"You're taking it from here?" I asked. He gave a short nod. "Come on, Grover," I said, dragging him out of the room.

The rest of my day went relatively normal, that is until Chiron came to find me a while before dinner started.

"Come with me to the Big House," he said. "Our new camper is awake." I followed him up to the Big House, to where he had been playing a game of pinochle. I leaned on a porch rail, and waited for he and Grover to finally come around.

"That's Mr. D," I heard Grover's voice from around the corner. They rounded the corner, and I finally got to see the boy actually awake. He looked exhausted, but otherwise okay.

"He's the camp director. That girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer then just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..." He looked at Chiron with his eyebrows scrunched, and then his eyes got a little wide.

"Mr. Brunner!" he said, obviously happy to recognize somewhere here. I was about to ask who, but then I remembered he had been teaching the boy under a pseudonym. Chiron smiled.

"Ah, good, Percy," Chiron said. "Now we have four for pinochle." He sat down in a chair next to Mr. D, who sighed heavily.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."

"Uh, thanks," Percy said, and scooted his chair a little ways away. I almost smiled.

"Annabeth?" Chiron called my name. I stepped forward. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

"Sure, Chiron," I said. I looked down at the shoebox that he was clutching, still unable to believe that he had killed the thing with his bare hands. I looked back up at him, and for some reason I felt irritated just looking at him. Maybe I should make a lasting impression.

"You drool when you sleep," I said. His face turned bright red, and I turned and sprinted off to the cabins. I stopped at my cabin first to get an architecture book—since I figured it'd be a while until they came anyways—and I headed off to the Hermes cabin.

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**I hope Annabeth's thoughts aren't OOC. Reviews are enjoyed, but not required. I won't shoot you if you don't review. You just don't get a cookie. A blue cookie! Ugh, I love Sally. **


	2. I Take an Unexpected Bath

**Chapter 2! Yay! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO. :(**

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_**- Chapter Two: I Take an Unexpected Bath -**_

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I waited outside of the Hermes cabin for a while, reading my architecture book while I waited for Chiron to finish giving him the tour.

"Oh, look," I heard Chiron's voice. "Annabeth is waiting for us." They walked up to me, and I put down my book. I looked Percy over again, trying to devise a plan to use him if he was the one I'd been waiting for. I'd have to know his parent first...

He looked down at my book, and I watched his eyebrows scrunch when he realized that the title was in a different language. I almost laughed.

"Annabeth, I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?" Chiron asked me.

"Yes, sir," I told him. I kind of wanted to get to know this kid, anyway.

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told him, gesturing at the door. "Make yourself at home." He looked over the cabin, and everyone bowed to Chiron when they saw him standing in the doorway.

"Well, then," he said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner." Chiron galloped away. Percy looked hesitantly at all of the campers who were looking at him, trying to decide if he could've actually killed the Minotaur. News had spread fast of it.

"Well?" I urged. "Go on." Of course, he had to trip on a shoe someone had left in the doorway, effectively making himself look like an idiot. His face was red again as he picked himself up off the floor, some of the campers snickering, but nobody said anything about it. I swallowed my annoyance and managed to introduce him.

"Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" someone called from the back. He looked confused, but I answered for him.

"Undetermined." Everyone groaned.

"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for," Luke said, stepping forward. I felt my heart do a little flip-flop. "Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot of the floor, right over here." He motioned to a cleared out space in the corner.

"This is Luke," I said, trying to control my blushing. Percy looked at me strangely, and I hardened my expression again. "He's your counselor for now."  
"For now?" he asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke said calmly. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers." Percy looked down at the small space Luke had given him, and luckily he seemed reluctant to put anything down. I knew that Connor and Travis would steal the Minotaur's horn in a heartbeat.

"How long will I be here?" he asked Luke.

"Good question," he answered. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?" Everyone started laughing, and I became even more irritated with this kid. How could he be so thick?

"Come on," I said. "I'll show you the volley ball court."

"I've already seen it," he said, obviously not taking my hint. I grabbed his wrist.

"Come on." I dragged him outside, still able to hear the Hermes cabin laughing behind us. I turned to him, glaring a little bit.

"Jackson, you have to do better then that," I told him.

"What?" he asked, _still_ confused.

I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe I thought you were the one."

"What's your problem?" he asked, obviously getting frustrated. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—" Some _bull guy_? I couldn't believe I was even talking to this kid.

"Don't talk like that! You know how many kids at camp wish they'd had your chance?"

"To get killed?"

"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"Look, if the thing I fought really was _the_ Minotaur, the same one in the stories..."

"Yes."

"Then there's only one."

"Yes."

"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the Labyrinth. So..."

"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed, but they don't die."

He stared me blankly. "Oh, thanks. That clears it up."

"They don't have souls, like you and me," I explained. "You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re-form." He frowned a little.

"You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—" So he _had_ seen a Fury...

"The Fur... I mean your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."

"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?" he asked.

"You talk in your sleep," I said. He looked embarrassed again.

"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"

I looked nervously at the ground. I really didn't want Hades overhearing that, and swallowing us up into the Earth. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."

"Look, is there anything we _can_ say without it thundering?" he whined. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there." He pointed to the Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon cabins. I paled.

"You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or... your parent." I looked at him, waiting for him to understand what I was asking.

"My mom is Sally Jackson," he said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to." His eyes fractured slightly, I felt a bit bad for him.

"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad," I said.

"He's dead. I never knew him," he stated. I sighed, getting ready for the speech I'd given a thousand times to new campers.

"Your father's not dead, Percy."

"How can you say that? You know him?"

"No, of course not."

"Then how can you say—"

"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't know anything about me."

"No?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."

"How—"

"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too." He looked embarrassed, yet again.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better then a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."

"You sound like... you went through the same thing?"

"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar," he said numbly.

"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood." He looked looked absolutely bewildered.

"Well! A newbie!" I heard Clarisse's voice from my side.

"Clarisse," I sighed, "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, Miss Princess," she responded. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

"_Erre es korakas_!" I told her. 'Go to the crows!' Basically, go to Hades since crows were one of his sacred animals. Nobody beat _us_ at capture the flag. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," she said, but didn't look very sure. She looked at Percy. "Who's this little runt?"

"Percy Jackson," I said. "Meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares." He blinked in surprise.

"Like... the war god?"

"You got a problem with that?" she snarled.

"No," he said, and somehow I knew there was some sarcasm coming, "It explains the bad smell." I resisted the urge to start laughing. Clarisse growled angrily.

"We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy," she said.

"Percy," he corrected.

"Whatever," she dismissed. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse—" I started.

"Stay out of it, wise girl," she said. I stepped back. Percy handed me his shoebox, and he got ready to fight her. Something told me he'd been in a lot, but none with the war god's daughter. She yanked him up and started dragging him towards the bathroom. He was punching and kicking her—I think he might've gotten her in the face once—but it was no use. I followed them, shaking my head and still holding the shoebox. She dragged him into the girl's bathroom.

"Like he's 'Big Three' material," she said, shoving him towards a toilet. "Yeah, right. The Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking." I stood, watching through my fingers as Clarisse shoved him to his knees, and his face towards the water. He looked absolutely disgusted—I guess that's reasonable—but also something else. Determined. Then, something extremely strange happened.

Pipes rumbled. All of a sudden, an arc of water sprouted from the toilet and smacked Clarisse right in the face. She started screaming. Another blast came out, and knocked her on her backside. Her friends started to rush up, and the other six toilets and a shower exploded, drenching me as well. Luckily, I only caught water from the shower. The water pushed them out of the door, and then shut off quickly. I stood in shock, staring at Percy. He was sitting in the only dry place in the room, without a speck of water on his clothes. He stood up uneasily.

"How did you..." I tried.

"I don't know." We both walked outside, to where Clarisse and her friends were sprawled out in the mud, drenched. Clarisse looked at Percy with absolute hatred.

"You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead," she growled. Percy smirked slightly.

"You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth." Her friends had to hold her back, and drag her away. I stared at him in shock and with a little bit of respect. Nobody had damaged Clarisse's pride like that in a while. It was nice to see.

"What?", he asked. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," I said, formulating a plan, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."

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**Reviews are appreciated. :)**


	3. Peter Johnson

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO. **

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**_- Chapter Three: Peter Johnson -_**

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I finished giving him the tour, showing him the forges, the arts-and-crafts room, and the climbing wall that he looked rather uneasy about. We reached the canoeing lake, where the path led back up to all of the Olympian's cabins.

"I've got training to do," I told him. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabins to the mess hall."

"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets," he apologized.

"Whatever," I said.

"It wasn't my fault," he said. I looked at him, and he bowed his head slightly, realizing that it _was_ his fault.

"You need to talk to the Oracle," I told him.

"Who?"

"Now who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron." He didn't look very satisfied with the answer, but he didn't ask questions. He just stared out at the lake, and then jumped when he saw two of the naiads waving at him from the bottom. He looked bewildered, but he waved back meekly.

"Don't encourage them," I warned him. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

"Naiads," he mumbled, staring out at the water. I could easily read the expression on his face, he was obviously overloaded and stressed. I mean, who wouldn't be? It like someone telling you that you've been living a lie your entire life. "That's it. I want to go home now."

I frowned a little. "Don't you get it, Percy? You _are_ home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?" he said, but I could tell he was just trying to deny the truth, and he knew it.

"I mean _not human_. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?" he asked.

"I think you know." He stared at water again.

"God," he said quietly. "Half-god." I nodded.

"Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."

"That's... crazy," he said.

"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"

"But those are just—" he started, but then caught himself before he said it. "But if all the kids here are half-gods—"

"Demigods," I interrupted. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Then who's your dad?" I gritted my teeth and gripped the pier. He looked sorry, obviously regretting asking.

"My dad is a professor at West Point," I said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."

"He's human."

"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?" I snapped.

"Who's your mom, then?" he asked.

"Cabin six."

"Meaning?"

I stood up a little straighter. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

"And my dad?" he asked, his eyes looking a little pleading.

"Undetermined," I said. "Like I told you before. Nobody knows."

"Except my mother. She knew," he said sadly.

"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities," I said.

"My dad would have. He loved her," he said. I looked at him cautiously, not wanting to make him feel any worse. He was obviously just trying to grip at some kind of family that he had left, since his mother was... gone. He probably wanted to believe that someone still cared.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send a sign, claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."

"You mean sometimes it doesn't?" I looked at the pier, and ran my hand along the wood.

"The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us." The tiny bit of hope that he had in his eyes disappeared.

"So I'm stuck here," he reasoned. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"

"It depends," I said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter"—Yeah, I believed that—"then you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."

"So monsters can't get in here?" I shook my head.

"Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."

"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"

"Practice fights. Practical jokes."

"Practical jokes?"

"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."

"So... you're a year-rounder?" I nodded, and pulled out my leather camp necklace. It had five beads, and my dad's college ring strung on it.

"I've been here since I was seven," I explained. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer then most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

"Why did you come so young?" he asked meekly.

"None of your business," I said, fingering the ring.

"Oh." There was an uncomfortable silence. He looked down at his shoes. "So... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?

"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless..."

"Unless?"

"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time..." I trailed off, thinking about how Luke had come back with that scar...

"Back in the sick room," he said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"

"Ambrosia."

"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."

Maybe he wasn't useless. "So you _do_ know something?"

"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time because of the deadline. What did that mean?" I balled my fists.

"I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know something, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so _normal_."

He stared at me. "You've been to Olympus?"

"Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during the winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."

"But... how did you get there?"

"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." I stared at him strangely. "You _are_ a New Yorker, right?"

"Oh, sure." He didn't sound convinced.

"Right after we visited, the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard the satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by the summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping... I mean—Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."

He shook his head sadly. He just looked tired and overloaded—the way most campers looked after their first day.

"I've got to get a quest," I muttered to myself. "I'm _not_ too young. If they would just tell me the problem..." I heard his stomach growl, and realized that he hadn't had an actual meal since he got here—over two days ago. I told him to go on, and that I would talk to him later. He left me, and I stood at the pier for a little while, trying to figure out how he could help me before going back to the Athena cabin. As soon as I got to my cabin, the conch shell blew for dinner.

"Six, fall in!" I shouted. Our cabin lined up in order of seniority, me first, and Malcolm behind me. I looked over at the Hermes line, and saw Percy standing dead last, looking uncomfortable. We all marched out to the mess hall, and sat at our cabin's tables. Chiron pounded his hoof on the marble flooring.

"To the gods!" he said, lifting up a glass.

We all raised our glasses. "To the gods!" We all loaded our plates and went up to the bronze braziers, to give a burnt offering to our parents.

"Athena," I said, but then added a silent plea. _Send me the camper I'm looking for._ I looked over and saw Percy standing over another brazier, hesitating. He didn't have anyone to pray to. He just scraped something in there, and then walked away.

After everyone had finished eating all of their food, Chiron starting pounding his hoof again to get our attention. Mr. D sighed and rose from his seat.

"Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." A bunch of cheering came from the Ares table. Everyone at Athena rolled their eyes.

"Personally, I couldn't care less, but congratulations," Mr. D continued. "Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson." Everyone turned at looked at Percy, sitting at the Hermes table. Chiron said something into his ear.

"Er, Percy Jackson," he corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on." We all cheered, and went to the amphitheater where the Apollo cabin would have a sing-along, and everyone could have fun. Sitting with the Hermes cabin, Percy didn't look so awkward anymore. Nobody seemed to be staring at him anymore, either. It was a nice night, and everyone seemed a little sad when we all had to go back to our cabins.

I fell asleep, thinking about Percy, trying to figure out if it was possible that he could be the one. I've never seen anyone who could make enemies so fast.

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**Reviews are appreciated. :) Capture the flag scene next!**


	4. My Prayers are Answered

**And here comes chapter 4! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO. Rick Riordan does.**

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**_- Chapter Four: My Prayers are Answered -_**

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The next few days went smoothly, and Percy seemed to be adjusting to camp rather well. He was learning ancient Greek a bit faster then normal, which I thought was a good thing. You could tell he still thought it was awkward for him to talk about the gods in the present-tense, but he adjusted. Of course, he still made bone-headed comments, and was confused half of the time, though. You thought I wouldn't say anything, didn't you?

Me, on the other hand, I spent my time negotiating alliances with Apollo and Hermes—the two largest cabins. We traded activities, chores, and even the best shower times so that they would work with us for capture the flag. Because I needed numbers for my plan to work. I couldn't wait to put it into action.

Finally, it was dinner before capture the flag. My cabin lined up like always, and marched down to the Mess Hall. We scraped part of our dinner into the fire, and sat down at table six.

"Hey, Annabeth," Malcolm said, jabbing my shoulder with his finger.

"Yeah?"

"Did you here what happened earlier today?" he asked.

I crinkled my eyebrows. "No... What happened?"

"I heard that the new kid in Hermes—"

"Percy," I interrupted.

"Yeah, him. I heard that he actually _disarmed_ Luke during swords practice!" I raised my eyebrows. Oh, my plan was getting better and better.

"You're not serious."

"I am. Travis told me about it."

"Good thing Hermes is on our side, right?" Corey, another one of my brothers, said.

"Yeah," Tracey agreed.

A conch horn sounded, and everyone cheered as me, Malcolm, and Tracey ran into the pavilion, carrying our silk banner. It was a beautiful gray, with an owl painted on the front, sitting in an olive tree. Clarisse ran in with the other banner—it was an ugly red with a bloody spear and a boar's head. The teams were announced, we were with Hermes and Apollo, and Ares was with the rest of camp—Hephaestus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Dionysus. Chiron stamped a hoof.

"Heroes!" he called into the pavilion. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more then two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his arms, and the tables were filled with armor and weapons.

I put on my armor, and adjusted the sheath of the knife that I always carried around on my arm. I pulled on my helmet, and hoisted up the banner with Malcolm.

"Blue team, forward!" I shouted. We started marching through the woods, and Malcolm and I decided to put the banner in a tree. Easy to see, hard to get too. They'd probably have to get someone from Demeter to climb up the tree. I was marching alone when I heard the clanging of armor behind me, and Percy jogged up my side. Now, it was time to put my plan in action.

"Hey," he huffed. "So what's the plan?" he asked. It was very hard not to smile. "Got any magical items you can loan me?" My went to my pocket, where I kept my magical Yankees cap that made the wearer turn invisible. It was still there, but you never know, since he was living with the Hermes cabin.

"Just watch Clarisse's spear," I told him. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means." _Perfect._

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." I pushed ahead so that he couldn't see me smiling.

"Okay," I heard him mumbled from behind me. "Glad you want me on your team."

The night was warm, and it was making me hot under my armor. But I didn't care. We were definitely going to get that banner from Ares. Poor Percy, though... he didn't even suspect a thing. I positioned him by the creek, and then ran to catch up to Luke.

"Everything in position?" he asked. I grinned.

"He's by the creek." Luke smiled.

"Good. Let's hope Ares takes the bait, and we can sneak around."

"They will," I said, and we all moved into our positions. The conch shell blew, and we all started moving towards the creek, on the opposite side of where Percy was positioned. We waited for a moment—me, Luke, 2 more Athena guys, and another Hermes camper—just to make sure that they took the bait.

"Cream the punk!" I heard Clarisse's voice from where Percy was stationed. We all moved forward across the creek. We started moving around the edge of the forest, avoiding almost all of Ares' campers. We were almost to the flag, and I heard a bunch of ugly laughing from where Percy was. I felt a little bit guilty, so I tapped Luke's shoulder.

"I'm going to make sure that they don't kill him," I told him. I also kinda wanted to let him get the flag. He nodded, and I slapped on my invisibility hat, then went back across the battlefield.

I came up into the bushes, and saw five Ares campers surrounding Percy. I bit back a curse, I didn't know _this_ many would come after him. I watched as Clarisse jabbed his shield with her spear, and his eyes got wide with shock. His hair stood up a little, and he stumbled. Another camper shield slammed him, and he fell back down into the dirt.

"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said between laughs. "Grab his hair." Percy dragged himself to his feet, but Clarisse slammed his sword aside.

"Oh, wow," she said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."

"The flag is that way," Percy tried.

"Yeah," one of her other siblings said, "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about the guy who made our cabin look stupid."

"You do that without my help," he said, which was a pretty stupid thing to say when you're on the loosing side. He took a step back towards the creek, and Clarisse jabbed him between the ribs with her spear. Someone else slashed a cut in his arm. He stared at the blood, half-dazed.

"No maiming," he said weakly. I readied my knife, I was going to have to jump in quick.

"Oops," he said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege." She shoved him into the creek, and his landed on his backside with a splash. They were all laughing so cruelly, and I was about to leap in and tackle Clarisse, when something strange happened.

Percy stood up in the creek to take them as they charged. He swung the flat of his sword into one of their helmets, sending it flying off into the creek. He crumbled to his knees, scrambling away from Percy. He slammed another in the face with his hilt, and they stumbled backwards, tripping over a tree branch. He sheared the horsehair plume right off of the other guy's helmet. The other camper backed up, keeping his distance.

Clarisse came at him again with her spear, the tip of it spitting sparks into the creek. She tried to stick him in the ribs again, but Percy caught the shaft of her spear between his shield and his sword, and then _snapped it like a twig._ My mouth hung open in surprise.

"Ah!" Clarisse yelled. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!" Percy just swung his sword, and hit her directly between the eyes with his sword butt. She stumbled back across the creek.

From nearby, I heard a bunch of yelling, and I saw Luke—oh gods, he looked so wonderful when he ran—making a beeline for the creek, with the Ares banner clutched in his hand. A few guys from Hermes and Apollo ran behind him. The five Ares kids Percy had destroyed started to get up. Clarisse slurred an ancient Greek curse.

"A trick!" she yelled. "It was a trick!"

They tried to run after Luke, but it was a loosing battle. He cleared the creek, and our entire side broke out into excited cheering. The banner shimmered and turned silver, with a big caduceus in the middle of it—the symbol of the Hermes cabin. Everyone picked up Luke and started parading him around on their shoulders. Chiron ran out of the woods, blowing a conch shell horn.

We'd won! My plan had worked.

I stepped into the creek beside Percy, who was still standing there in shock, with his sword swinging from his hand.

"Not bad, hero," I said. He looked over, but then I realized I was still invisible. "Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" I took off my cap, and stuffed it into my pocket.

"You set me up," he accused. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

I just shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in but..." I shrugged again. "You didn't need help." I looked at his wounded arm, which was... healing over? "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut. What do you think?" he said irritably.

"No. It _was_ a sword cut. Look at it." He looked down, and watched it disappear.

"I—I don't get it," he said. I looked down at Clarisse's spear, and then realized something. The water. That's when he'd starting fighting better, when the cut had started healing... oh no.

"Step out of the water, Percy," I asked.

"What—"

"Just do it." He stepped out onto the bank, and his skin paled. He almost immediately fell over. I grabbed his arm, and kept him upright.

"Oh Styx," I cursed. "This is _not_ good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus..." There was no way. The gods were just toying with me, now weren't they? Suddenly, a howl ripped through the forest.

"_Stand ready! My bow!_" Chiron ordered in ancient Greek. I drew my sword. I looked up at the rocks above us, only too see an enormous hellhound staring down at us. It was covered in pitch black fur, with two beady red eyes that glittered like rubies. It's paws were bigger then dinner plates. Unfortunately, it was staring straight at Percy.

"Percy, run!" I yelled. I tried to get in front of him, but the hellhound leaped straight over me like I was a hurdle, and landed on him. It's claws ripped at his armor, and it was about to turn him into mince meat. The archers all drew their bows, and there was a shower of arrows. The hellhound landed dead at Percy's feet.

"_Di immortales!_ That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment!" I said in disbelief. "They don't... they're not supposed to..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said gravely. "Someone inside the camp."

"It's Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!" Clarisse yelled. I wanted to tell her to shut up, and that he probably didn't even know how, but Chiron beat me to the punch.

"Be quiet, child," he said.

Everyone watched as the hellhound melted into a shadow, and seeped into the cracks in the earth.

"You're wounded. Quick, Percy, get into the water," I told him. His armor was scratched up to shred, and blood seeped through the metal. He looked absolutely terrified.

"I'm okay," he stuttered, probably because he was too dazed to think straight.

"Not you're not," I said. I needed Chiron to see what had happened. Because this definitely wasn't good. "Chiron, watch this." Percy stepped back into the creek, and instantly the blood disappeared. His gashes started healing, turning into pale scars, and eventually disappearing from his torso completely.

"Look, I—I don't why," he stammered. "I'm sorry..." But that wasn't it.

"Percy..." I said, pointing above his head. "Um..." He looked up, and his eyes got wide. Above him, was a spinning sign—a claiming sign. It was a three pointed spear, bathed in blueish-green light. A trident.

"Your father," I murmured. "This is _really_ not good."

"It is determined," Chiron said. Everyone started kneeling, even though the Ares cabin didn't looked very happy about doing that.

"My father?" Percy asked, bewildered.

"Poseidon," Chiron said. "Earthshaker, Storm bringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

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**Gasp! See Annabeth's reaction in the next chapter.**


	5. I Finally Get a Quest

**This chapter is kind of boring... mostly just Chiron and Percy talking. Oh well! It's a crucial part of the original book.**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Well, not really. But kind of.**

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**_- Chapter Five: I Finally Get a Quest -_**

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Poseidon. Are you _kidding_ me? Well, I guess I got what I wanted. But still... the guy that I'm going to be working with has to be a son of Poseidon. It was completely unfair. I mean... I would rather work with a son of Hades, and I absolutely _hate_ Hades. Still... I should've seen it. I did see Poseidon at the winter solstice. He had the same black hair and sea green eyes... ugh! This was horrible. All of my other campers agreed.

Everyone started basically shunning him. He walked to meals alone, ate alone, sat at the campfire alone, slept alone, and during all of his activities he was lumped together with another cabin. He didn't smile anymore. But I didn't care. Ancient Greek became my worst class of the day, since he was in it. Whenever he said something, I couldn't help but scowl at him. I just absolutely hated what he meant for me. There was no way...

"Quest... Poseidon? ...Dirty rotten... Got to make a plan..." I muttered after leaving Greek. How on Earth could _he_ be useful?

One night when I came back from the campfire, Malcolm was waiting in the doorway of our cabin, holding a newspaper. He handed it to me.

"Clarisse left one on every cabin's doorstep. Funny, right?" he said.

**Boy and Mother Still Missing After Freak Car Accident**

_by Eileen Smythe_

Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.

Mother and son had gone on a vacation to Montauk, but left hastily under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.

Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violet tendencies in the past.

Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are reason pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.

The number had been circled in black marker. I looked up and saw everyone crowding around one of the windows in their cabin. I walked over and saw that they were looking across the commons area, and at one of the windows of the Poseidon cabin.

I saw Percy, clutching the newspaper in his hands. As he read his face turned red with anger, and eventually he balled up the paper and threw it across his cabin. He flopped down angrily on his bed, called something out, and the lights flickered off. Everyone in our cabin started laughing and high-fiving, except me. I looked down at the paper, feeling a bit guilty.

"Guys," I said. Everyone stopped laughing at turned to look at me. "I mean... I hate him as much as you guys do. But... he's still a camper. Would you want someone laughing at you because _your_ mother died?" Everyone shifted uncomfortably, realizing how bad they must have looked. I sighed, and tossed the paper into a trash can.

"Are you going soft on us, Annabeth?" Malcolm asked.

"No," I said, my expression hard. "It's just not right to laugh at other people's pain."

He sighed. "Guess you're right..."

"I'm always right," I said. "Lights out!" Everyone shuffled into their beds.

The next morning, when I woke up, I glanced out of the window and saw Grover walking with Percy towards the Big House. It was weird, since it wasn't even breakfast yet. I quickly got dressed and put on my Yankees cap, and began to follow them silently up to the Big House.

When I got outside, I realized there was something strange going on. There was a huge storm heading straight for our valley. Everyone who was already up looked more tense then usual, and they kept looking up at the storm.

I followed Grover and Percy up to the porch of the Big House, where Chiron and Dionysus were playing a game of pinochle with two sets of players who were just cards hovering in the air.

"Well, well," Mr. D said, without even looking away from his cards. "Our little celebrity."

Percy didn't move.

"Come closer," he said, looking up. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father." Lightning flashed, and thunder shook the Big House.

"Blah, blah, blah," Mr. D dismissed. Grover started shaking a little. "If I had my way, I would cause your molecules to erupt into flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion _is_ a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron said.

"Nonsense. Boy wouldn't feel a thing," he said. "Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself. I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."  
"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," Dionysus sighed. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." He got up from his seat, and the cards fell onto the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottle-nose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more reasonable choice then what Chiron feels you must do." He took a card, and flipped it in his hand. It turned into a security pass, and the air seemed to bend around him. He disappeared, only leaving the smell of grapes behind.

"Sit, Percy, please. And Grover." They sat down in the chairs. "Tell me, Percy. What did you think of the hellhound?" He shuddered just at the mention of the name.

"It scared me," he admitted. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."

"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done," Chiron said. I almost gasped.

"Done... with what?" Percy asked.

"Your quest, of course," he stated. "Do you accept it?" Grover's fingers were crossed.

"Um, sir, you haven't told me what it is yet." No duh! Was his brain made of seaweed?

"That's the hard part, the details." Percy looked out at where the storm clouds met the beach. He frowned slightly.

"Poseidon and Zeus," he said. "They're fighting over something valuable, something that was stolen, aren't they?" I raised my eyebrows. How hadn't I seen it before? And how did... _he_?

"How did you know that?" Chiron asked. Percy's cheeks flushed.

"The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And... I've also been having these dreams."

"I knew it," Grover said.

"Hush, satyr," Chiron said.

"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were shining. "It must be!"

"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that has been stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

He laughed nervously. "A _what_?"

"Do not take this lightly," Chiron said. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."

"Oh."

"Zeus's master bolt," he said. I almost gasped again. Of course! It made so much sense! "The symbol of his power, from which all lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs like firecrackers."

"And it's missing?"

"Stolen," he said.

"By who?"

"By _whom,_" Chiron corrected. I rolled my eyes. "By you." Percy and I's mouths dropped simultaneously.

"At least, that's what Zeus thinks," Chiron amended, holding up a hand. "During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' 'Air disasters are always more spectacular then sea disasters', et cetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."

"But I didn't—"

"Patience and listen, child," he interrupted. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives his brother some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."

"But I've never been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!" Percy protested. Everyone looked nervously at the sky, as the storm clouds rolled over us.

"Er, Percy...?" Grover said. "We don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."

"Perhaps _paranoid,_" Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at Percy expectantly. Percy just stared at him blankly.

"Something about a golden net?" he guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and few other gods... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to become a better ruler, right?"

"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense to the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."

"But I'm just a kid!"

"Percy," Grover interrupted, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted that he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"

"But I didn't do anything," Percy persisted. "Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia might make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus by the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"

"Bad?" he guessed.

"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan war look like a water-balloon fight."

"Bad," he repeated. And, the award for understatement of the year goes too... Mr. Seaweed-for-Brains. I rolled my eyes.

"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath." It started raining. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the sky. Zeus was sending this storm because of Percy. He was punishing the whole camp because of one accusation.

"So I have to find the stupid bolt," Percy said. "And return it to Zeus."

"What a better peace offering then to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"

"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"

"I believe I know," Chiron said, frowning. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."

"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?" he asked. Good question...

"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge," he said. That's inspiring, Chiron. Percy swallowed hard.

"Good reason."

"You agree then?" Grover nodded encouragingly.

"All right," he said. "It's better then being turned into a dolphin."

"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more." Great vote of confidence... Percy got up uneasily, and went upstairs. After a few minutes, he came down, looking mildly disturbed.

"Well?" Chiron asked him, as he slumped into a chair.

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

"That's great!" Grover said, chewing on a Diet Coke can.

"What did the Oracle say _exactly_?" Chiron asked. "This is important."

"She... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover muttered.

"Anything else?" Chiron pressed. Percy fiddled with the hem of his shirt, and I could tell he was hiding something.

"No," he said. "That's about it."

"Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass." Percy looked a little uncomfortable with the fact that Chiron knew he was hiding something.

"Okay. So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?" he said, changing the subject.

"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in war, who stands to gain?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?"

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken." He thought for a second.

"Hades."

Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."

"Whoa, wait. Wh-what?" Grover asked.

"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but—but Hades hates all heroes," he said. "Especially if he found out that Percy is a son of Poseidon..."

"A hellhound got into the forest. Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name, Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."

"Great," Percy muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me." I smiled a little.

"But a quest to..." Grover swallowed hard. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth." Grover started eating playing cards.

"Look, if we know it's Hades, why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads." I rolled my eyes.

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they could not retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying I'm being used."

"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you." Percy looked like he had mixed feelings about that.

He looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"  
"I had my suspicions. As I said... I've spoken to the Oracle, too." Percy bit his lip.

"So, let me get this straight. I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead," he said.

"Check."

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right." Grover swallowed the ace of hearts.

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he said meekly.

"You don't have to go," Percy said. "I can't ask that of you."

"Oh... No... it's just that satyrs and underground places... well..." He stood up and straightened. "You saved my life, Percy. If... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down." Percy obviously looked relieved.

"All the way, G-Man," he said. "So where do we go? The oracle just said go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus."

"Where?"

"I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles." No duh, kelp-for-brains.

"Oh," he said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"

"No!" Grover yelped. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?" He shook his head, his cheeks turning red. Oh, Percy...

"Percy, think," Chiron said, "You are the sun of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, the Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive." Thunder cracked.

"Okay," he said. "So I'll travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help." How did Chiron know I was here?

"Gee," Percy said sarcastically, "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?" I pulled off my Yankees cap and shoved it into my pocket. Grover looked surprised.

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," I said. Whoa, where did the nickname come from? "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," he said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?" I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"Do you want my help or not?" I asked.

"A trio," he said. "That'll work."

"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own." More lightning flashed. Rain came in a heavy downpour, creating puddles of mud everywhere.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

* * *

**Isn't Chiron so inspirational sometimes? **


	6. Percy Takes the Wheel

**And now, the actual quest starts! Whoop whoop!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan. Therefor, I do not own.**

* * *

**_- Chapter Six: Percy Takes the Wheel -_**

* * *

After our little briefing at the Big House, I practically skipped back to my cabin, who was just now waking up. Malcolm frowned at me as I walked into the door.

"Annabeth, why are you—"

"I've got a quest!" I practically shouted. Malcolm smiled a little.

"About time," he said.

"Tell me about it," I said, and went over to my trunk to start packing. I took out of a small backpack and shoved a few things in—some spare changes of clothing, an architecture book in case I got bored, a hair brush, and some squares of ambrosia. I strapped my bronze knife to my arm, and stuffed my Yankee's cap into my pocket.

I met Grover and Percy in the middle of the commons area between the cabins, and we all waved goodbye to the other campers. We hiked up Half-Blood Hill, where Chiron and Argus were waiting for us with one of the Delphi Strawberry vans. Argus wore a chauffeur's uniform, which I thought looked a little ridiculous, but hey, who can go wrong with a guy who's covered in eyes.

"This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

I heard the crunch of wet grass, and we turned around to see Luke running up to us, holding a pair of basketball sneakers in his hands. I involuntarily felt myself blush. _Control yourself_!

"Hey!" he said, out of breath. "Glad I caught you."

_So am I_, I thought to myself. Even out of breath, he looked cute.

Then, he looked at Percy, completely ruining any wonderful thoughts I had in my head. "Just wanted to say good luck," he said to Percy. "And I thought... um, maybe you could use these."

He handed Percy the sneakers, and he looked at them skeptically.

"_Maia_!" Luke said. Small, white bird's wings sprouted from the bottoms of them. Percy dropped the shoes in surprise, and they fluttered around the ground until the wings retracted and they were normal again. I had to admit, I was a little miffed.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled, making him look completely handsome. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." He frowned a little.

Percy blushed a little.

"Hey, man," he said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy..." Luke scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just... kill some monsters for me, okay?"

Percy nodded, and they shook hands. He patted Grover on the head, and then _gave me a hug_. I thought I was going to pass out right there in the grass.

After he was gone, Percy cocked an eyebrow in my direction. "You're hyperventilating."

I tried to control my breathing. "Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

I scowled. "Oh... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"

I walked down the hill to the van, Argus following behind with they keys. I opened the door, and sat in the backseat. I watched out of the window as Percy gave the basketball shoes to Grover, and he flew down the hill. He flopped into the van next to me, grinning like an idiot.

"These things are cool," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why did he give them to you?"

"You know, air travel, son of Poseidon..." Grover said. I didn't need to be reminded.

Percy came down the hill, shoving a ballpoint pen into his pocket, though I didn't see how a pen would be very useful.

Argus drove us into the city in silence, and I found myself staring at everything out of the windows. I hadn't been outside of Camp Half-Blood in forever...

"So far so good," Percy murmured to me. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

I glared at him. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain." _Gods_, where was this nickname coming from?

"Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?" he said.

I sent him a skeptical look. "I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

I fingered my invisibility cap. "Look... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?"

I sighed inwardly. Seaweed brain... "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is _hugely_ disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives, then."

I wanted to smack him. "Oh, forget it."

"Now, if she's invented pizza—_that_ I could understand."

"I said, forget it!" Ugh, idiot! In the front seat, Argus smiled and winked at Percy. What the heck was that about?

By the time we got to Manhattan, the sun was starting to dip below the skyline, and it was drizzling. Argus left us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side.

As soon as we got off, I noticed a soaking wet flyer taped to a mailbox with Percy's picture and printed in bold: **HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?**

Percy ripped it down when he thought Grover and I weren't looking.

Argus helped us unload our bags,made sure we got our tickets, and then finally drove away, watching us with an eye on the back of his hand. Percy stared down the street, his expression sad and longing. Grover looked down in the same direction.

"You want to know why she married him, Percy?" Grover said out of the blue. I raised an eyebrow. Percy stared at him.

"Were you reading my mind or something?"

"Just your emotions." He shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. I could tell it was to Percy, though. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?" I remembered seeing something about Percy have a stepdad in the newspaper article—and also the fact that he had told the newspaper his stepchild had anger issues. I guessed he probably didn't have the best stepdad in the world.

Percy nodded listlessly, looking at his shoes.

"Your mom married Gabe for _you_," Grover continued. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," Percy muttered dejectedly. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

I could tell by the blank look in Percy's eyes that it most definitely _didn't_ make him feel any better. What guy could smell so bad that he masks a Big Three kid's scent?

There was silence for a little while, while the rain kept coming down lightly around the buss stop. We all got bored, and decided to play Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples.

I was really good, and I found myself trying to impress Percy, bouncing the apple off of my knee, my elbow, my shoulder... anything I could hit. Eventually, Percy sent the apple too close to Grover's mouth, and in one bite, the entire apple was gone. Not even the core or the stem was left.

Grover tried to apologize, but Percy and I were laughing too hard. I had to grip his shoulder to keep from falling over.

The bus finally came. As we were waiting in line to get on the bus, Grover started sniffing around tensely, as if he sensed monsters.

"What is it?" Percy asked him.

"I don't know," he said hesitantly. "Maybe it's nothing."

It most definitely wasn't nothing. I started looked around, and over my shoulder, and noticed that Percy was doing the same. It made me glad when we finally got on the bus and sat together in the back. I kept slapping my Yankee's cap against my knee, trying to control my anxiety.

As the last few passengers got on, I gasped quietly, and then reached over and grasped Percy's knee. "Percy."

An old lady had just stumbled up onto the bus, wearing a big, orange floppy knit hat and a rumpled velvet dress. She wore lace gloves, and also carried a large, flower-printed purse. When she looked up, down the aisle, she had completely black eyes, like orbs of darkness. It was a Fury.

Percy scooted down in his seat next to me.

We all watched as two more ladies climbed up behind her, both in the same floppy hats (different colors, of course) and velvet dresses. They all had those evil, black eyes. They sat in the front behind the driver, their knees crossed in the aisle, as if to say: _Nobody leaves._

The bus pulled out of the station. "She didn't stay dead long," Percy said, his voice quivering a little. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're _lucky_," I reminded him. "You're obviously not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered from my other side. "_Di immortales_!"

"It's okay," I said, trying to control my own fear and come up with a plan. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover said quietly.

"A back exit?" I asked. There wasn't one. Percy just kept staring at them.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," he tried, "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," I reminded him, hating to burst that bubble. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

I thought about it. _Good point... _"Hard to say. But we can't count on the mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"

We went into the Lincoln Tunnel, making my skin tingle from the darkness and quiet without the rain drumming on the ceiling.

Alecto stood up in the aisle, and announced to the entire bus, "I need to use the rest-room."

"So do I," said the one with the purple hat.

"So do I," said the Fury with the green hat.

They got up and all starting making their way down the isle, heading for us. A plan formulated in my head.

"I've got it," I said. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys—"

"There's an outside chance the might not notice us," I reminded him. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you," he said. I was a little bit touched that he actually cared about us enough to not want to leave us, but now wasn't the time for heartwarming moments.

"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"

His hands shook a little, but he took the cap from me. He left his seat, and they kept coming towards us.

They suddenly stopped, and Alecto looked into an empty seat—no doubt where he was standing—but then moved on.

They finally got to us, and started screeching like a banshee.

They turned into their true forms—they looked like bats with the haggard faces of old ladies, and their purses turned into whips. They started lashing their whips at Grover and I, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

_It?_ Either they'd just majorly insulted Percy, or they weren't looking for him.

"He's not here!" I yelled, going with the former. "He's gone!"

They raised their whips, and I drew my knife. Grover grabbed a tin can out of his backpack, though I didn't know how much good that would do.

Suddenly, the entire bus hooked left, and everyone was thrown into the right of the bus.

"Hey!" The driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"

He wrestled an invisible person for the wheel. _Percy_. Oh, gods...

We barreled out form under the Lincoln Tunnel, and sped down an exit. We careened down a rural road somewhere in New Jersey, the Hudson river to our right. The brakes squealed, and we did a three-sixty into the tree line. The driver and the rest of the passengers started pouring out of the bus, leaving Grover and I and a few blood thirsty Furies. I waved my knife at them, while shouting in ancient Greek. Grover was still throwing tin cans.

"Hey!" I looked up, only to see Percy standing there, waving my Yankee's cap. I sighed.

The Furies all started to make their way to the front of the bus where he was, cracking their whips. Why did he do that? He didn't even have a weapon!

"Perseus Jackson," Alecto said icily. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I liked you better as a math teacher," Percy said.

She growled at him, and Grover and I moved forward to attack them so they wouldn't rearrange his face.

He took out the ballpoint pen. What was he going to do? Stab her in the eye?

The flicked off the cap, and the pen expanded into a three-foot long celestial bronze sword, the blade shaped like a leaf. Well, that could work.

Alecto hesitated.

"Submit now," she snarled, "And you will not suffer eternal torment."

"Nice try," he said.

"Percy, look out!" I yelped as she raised her whip. She lashed out as his sword hand, and amazingly, he didn't even drop his sword. The others lunged at him.

He hilt-slammed one in the chest, sending her back into the seat, and sliced the other Fury to his right. She exploded into dust. I jumped onto Alecto's back and put her into a wrestler's hold, while Grover grabbed her whip.

"Ow!" he said "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

The other Fury went at Percy again, but he busted her open like she was a pinata. Alecto was still trying to throw me, but I held on tightly while Grover tied up her legs with her whip. I shoved her back into the aisle. She tried to get up, but kept falling.

"Zeus will destroy you!" she shouted at Percy. "Hades will have your soul!"

"_Braccas meas vescimini!_" Percy yelled at her. _Eat my pants_? Seriously?

Thunder shook the entire bus.

"Get out!" I yelled. "Now!" We all ran out of the bus, and a guy in a Hawaiian t-shirt snapped Percy's picture while he still had his sword out. Great.

"Our bags!" Grover remembered. "We left our—"

_BOOOM!_

The bus exploded, and everyone ran for cover as lightning shredded the top of the bus, setting it on fire and creating an enormous smoking crater in the top of it.

Tourists ran around screaming as wreckage flew from the bus, the driver trying to calm everyone down, but failing. An angry wail came from inside, and I automatically knew that Alecto wasn't dead yet. She was calling for help.

"Run!" I told the others. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"

The boys didn't need any more encouragement. We all sprinted into the tree line, and ran as far away from the wreckage as we could. I tried to ignore the fact that we didn't have any money, any clothes, food, or a ride.

And we weren't even out of New Jersey.

* * *

**Oh, the humanity!**

**From now on, chapters will be coming out at random times. Basically, whenever I feel like writing one and finishing it. Nag me enough, and I'll get around to it faster. **


	7. It's Just A Photo, Annabeth

**Chapter 7! Read on!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy.**

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**_- Chapter Seven: It's Just A Photo, Annabeth -_**

* * *

The three of us walked along the New Jersey riverbank, shivering in the rain, without any provisions whatsoever. And I couldn't help but think about how it was all Percy's fault. If he had just stayed out of the fight...

Grover was trembling. His eyes were slit-pupiled, like when he got scared. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

I practically had to drag them forward, trying to keep my cool. Truth was, I was just as scared as they were. I just hid it. "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"All our money was back there," Percy mumbled. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—" I snapped.

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover added, "but fine."

I glared at him. "Shut up, goat boy."

Grover brayed softly. "Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

After that we walked in silence, sloshing across the wet ground. I couldn't help thinking that we probably wouldn't have made it if Percy hadn't helped us. And now he looked guilty, walking with his hands jammed in his pockets, head bent. Guilty for saving us.

I slowed to walk next to him. "Look, I..." My voice trailed off when he looked up at me, and his eyes caught the light. They shined like polished glass, and I forgot how to speak for a second.

I found my voice again. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?" he said simply.

I didn't say anything for a moment. "It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world." Also, even though I didn't say it, I didn't want him to die. I mean... not just because it would be bad for him...

It finally stopped raining. We were far enough from the city that the lights didn't illuminate the forest any more, and all I could see of Percy was the occasional flash of his eyes.

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" he asked.

"No... only short field trips. My dad—"

"The history professor." I was a little surprised he had actually been listening.

"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood _is_ my home." My words started pouring out, tumbling over each other, and I didn't know why. "At camp your train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."

There was a short pause. "You're pretty good with that knife," he said.

"You think so?"

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me," he told me. I smiled a little. His eyes flashed in the darkness as he glanced at me. Suddenly, I wanted to compliment him on his sword fighting, since he made me feel better.

"You know, maybe I should tell you... Something funny back on the bus..." My sentence was interrupted by the torturous sound of Grover's reed pipes. _Toot-toot-toot!_

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" he cried. Why wouldn't they work? "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"

He blew a few notes on the pipes, but instead of finding a path, Percy immediately slammed face first into a tree and let out an oath.

After stumbling along through the woods for another mile or so, I could finally see some light pouring in through the trees. The air smelled like fried food, and was making my mouth water just smelling it. We kept crashing through the trees—Percy and I apparently had the same idea—until we came out to a two-lane road.

There was a closed gas station on one side, and then on the other, was one of the curio shops that sell all of the crazy statues and the weird bath soaps and such. Statues were lying around in the grass outside—hundreds of them, just piled up, sitting there. There was a red neon sign above the gate, but it just looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. I hated being dyslexic _and_ loving reading.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," Grover translated. There were two little gnomes sitting out front, waving.

Percy started to cross the street, and I followed him. The food smelled so good... it had been forever since I'd had junk food. It felt like it was calling out to me.

"Hey..." Grover said warily.

"The light are on inside," I said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said hopefully.

"Snack bar," I agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

We ignored him.

As we got closer, I could see some of the statues. They were statues of children, adults, couples, animals, and even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which Grover didn't like.

"_Bla-ha-ha!_" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

The three of us stopped in front of the warehouse doors.

"Don't knock," Grover begged. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," I said in a daze. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said in disbelief. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy commented.

"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me."

But before we had time to make any decisions, the door creaked open. A woman in a full black headdress and a black gown emerged, her entire body covered except her hands. You could barely see the glint of her eyes behind the black fabric. She looked old, but somehow elegant.

She said in a Middle Eastern accent, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"They're... um..." I struggled to come up with a sob story.

"We're orphans," Percy interjected. Okay, that could work.

"Orphans?" she said, the word coming out funny. "But, my dears! Surely not!"

"We got separated from our caravan," he added. _Caravan_? "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyways, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"

"Oh, my dears," she said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

We thanked her and walked into the warehouse.

"Circus caravan?" I asked Percy.

"Always have a strategy, right?"

"Your head is full of kelp."

We started wandering through the warehouse, the only thing running through my head was _food_. I didn't even notice how weird it was that all the statues were life sized, or that she had locked the door behind us, or how their eyes followed us. All I wanted to do was get to the dining area. The food's smell was intoxicating.

"Please sit down," Aunty Em said, gesturing to a few picnic tables.

"Awesome," Percy mumbled.

"Um," Grover said, "we don't have any money, ma'am."

Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said. I thought I saw Aunty Em stiffen for a moment, but she relaxed as soon as I saw it, so I thought I was seeing things.

"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." The smell of food was so overpowering that I didn't even register the fact that I hadn't told her my name.

As we sat down, she went behind the counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she came out with trays full of cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and french fries.

I picked up a milkshake while Percy start devouring a cheeseburger. Grover picked at the french fries, but he looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked. I didn't hear anything.

"Hissing?" Aunty Em said. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover." He hadn't told her his name.

"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."

Aunty Em just sat and watched us eat, but I couldn't help but notice she kept looking at Percy the most. It was a little strange, but Percy didn't seem to notice.

"So, you sell gnomes," he said, trying to make small talk.

"Oh, yes," she said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"A lot of business on this road?"

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

Percy looked behind him at one of the statues. It was a little girl, holding an Easter basket. It was incredibly detailed, and my sleepy mind though she had to be really skilled to make something like that. But the face... the little girl looked absolutely terrified.

"Ah," she said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face." My brain started to wake a little... something about Greek mythology...

"You make these statues yourself?" Percy asked.

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." Details started falling into place. Oh... please no...

I stopped eating. "Two sisters?"

"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

Everything started clicking together. Statues. Two sisters. The headdress... Aunty 'M.' No wonder she kept looking at Percy... Oh, gods.

Meanwhile, Percy was still under the spell of the food. He looked sleepy, like he was about to pass out at the table. I had to shake his shoulder to get his attention.

"Percy?" He finally looked over at me. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."

"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em said. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those." She reached out to touch me, but I stood abruptly.

"We should really go."

"Yes!" Grover swallowed the wax paper from the tray, and stood op next to me. "The ring master is waiting! Right!" Percy was still sitting there, dazed, staring at the food. She must have gotten him good.

"Please, dears," Aunty Em asked. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" I asked, not liking this at all.

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

I shifted my weight. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—"

"Sure we can," Percy interrupted, his voice thick and dazed. Great! "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"

I didn't like it, but I let her lead us outside of the warehouse. She brought us over to a bench right next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."

"Not much light for a photo," Percy muttered. Yes! Come on, Percy...

"Oh, enough," she said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked. I was beginning to like this much, much less.

Aunty Em stepped back to look at the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

Grover looked at the stone satyr. "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."

"Grover," Aunty Em said, "look this way, dear." She still didn't have a camera.

"Percy—" I tried to warn him. He blinked a couple of times, but still looked dazed and content with sitting there.

"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."

"Percy, something's wrong," I tried to warn him. He shifted a little, but did nothing.

"Wrong?" Aunty Em asked, reaching up to undo her headdress. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

Grover gasped. "That _is_ Uncle Ferdinand!"

"Look away from her!" I shouted. I slapped on my Yankee's cap, and then shoved them both off of the bench. Grover started running away from her, but Percy sat on the ground, still looking sleepy and confused. He sat there staring at her feet.

She took off her headdress, and I heard the hissing sound of hundreds of snakes writhing around on her head. Percy's eyes went up to her hands, which had turned warty and hideous.

He started to look higher—still confused—but I screamed, "No! Don't!"

"Run!" Grover bleated. He ran across the gravel, and yelled, "_Maia_!" to start his shoes.

Percy was stuck sitting there, furrowing his eyebrows as if he realized what was happening, but couldn't fight it.

"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," Medusa said in a soothing tone. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."

Instead of looking up—thank the gods—he looked over at one of the gazing spheres people put into gardens. He saw her reflection there, even with the ugly snakes and horrible skin, he still couldn't move.

"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."

"Don't listen to her!" I shouted at him. "Run!"

"Silence!" she snarled at me. She returned her voice to the sweet, sympathetic purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."

"No," he mumbled, his muscles straining like he was trying to get up.

"Do you really want to help the gods?" she asked him. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."

"Percy!" Grover yelled. "Duck!"

Percy turned, and there was Grover, flying towards Medusa with his eyes shut, brandishing a tree limb. He was going by smell and hearing only.

"Duck! I'll get her!" That must've woken Percy up, because he finally dived out of the way before Grover managed to plow into him._ Thwack! _

Medusa roared. "You miserable satyr," she hissed. "I'll add you to my collection!"

Grover yelled, "That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Percy scrambled up, and went and hid behind one of the statues while Grover went down to hit her again._ Ker-whack!_

"Arrgh!" she screamed.

I went up to Percy. "Percy!"

He was so startled he almost jumped right over a gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"

I took off my cap. "You have to cut her head off."

He stared at me like I'd just told him to run into the middle of a busy highway. "What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."

"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." I swallowed hard, hating to admit this. He'll only get a bigger head. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance."

"What?" he said, like I had lost my mind. "I can't—"

I resorted to guilt. "Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"

I pointed at a statue of couple, arms around each other as they were turned to stone. By the look in his eyes, I knew he would do it.

I snatched a green gazing-ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better..." I mumbled, remembering the Perseus myth. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—"

"Would you speak English?" he interrupted. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"I _am_!" I threw him the ball. "Just look at her in the glass. _Never_ look at her directly."

"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled from over above us. "I think she's unconscious!"

"_Roooooaarr!_"

"Maybe not." He swooped down with the tree branch again.

"Hurry," I rushed Percy. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."

Percy gave a short sigh, and then took out the pen. He uncapped it, gaining a bronze sword, and started making his way to Medusa.

Grover swooped down again, but this time, Medusa grabbed his tree branch and sent him spiraling into the statue of a grizzly bear, landing with a loud "Ummph!"

Medusa turned on him, but—like an idiot—Percy yelled, "Hey!"

He moved towards her, obviously struggling to balance both the sphere and his sword. For whatever reason, she let him approach. I saw his eyes narrow a little when he saw her reflection, almost like disbelief.

"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she purred. "I know you wouldn't."

Percy hesitated, staring into the ball with an expression almost like fascination. His arms shook a little. I wanted to run up and smack him.

"Percy, don't listen to her!" Grover yelled from the grizzly bear.

"Too late," Medusa said. She lunged at Percy, going to rip him to shreds. All I could think was,_ Well, there goes our quest._

But Percy slashed upwards—almost perfect aim, I had to give him—and his blade connected with something. Their was a loud _shlock!_, almost like someone popping gum, and then a hiss like a monster disintegrating. I heard something hit the ground next to Percy's foot.

"Oh, yuck," Grover said from the grizzly bear. "Mega-yuck."

I picked up Medusa's veil, and walked over Percy, who was rooted to the spot, standing rigidly. He was shaking a little. "Don't move," I said. I didn't think he would anyways.

I knelt down—my eyes fixed on the sky—and carefully draped the veil over Medusa's head. I pulled it around the head, and gently picked it up by the folds, still dripping the nasty green juice.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, unable to keep my voice from shaking.

"Yeah," he lied. He was still trembling a little. "Why didn't... why didn't the head evaporate?"

"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," I explained. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."

Grover griped and groaned as he climbed down from the grizzly bear. There was a red welt on his head, and the winged sneakers had come off his feet when he'd hit. Now, they were flying around his head like flies.

"The Red Baron," Percy said. "Good job, man."

Grover grinned. "That really was _not_ fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? _Not_ fun."

Grover grabbed his shoes, Percy capped his sword, and we all stumbled back into the warehouse.

We found a bunch of plastic grocery bags, and then double-wrapped Medusa's head, just to be sure that it wouldn't accidentally petrify anyone. We sat around where we had eaten, staring at each other and looking generally exhausted.

Percy broke the silence. "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"

I scowled at him. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."

Looking at him—while he turned tomato red—I realized he did look a lot like Poseidon. It was kind of eerie, like Poseidon as a kid. I shook that thought out of my head.

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault we met Medusa," he said.

I straightened and imitated his voice. "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'" True, he hadn't been in his right mind, but I still wanted to call him on it. If we'd have just left...

"Forget it," he mumbled, sounding a little hurt. "You're impossible."

"You're insufferable," I replied.

His eyes turned angry. "You're—"

"Hey!" Grover interjected. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even _get_ migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"

Percy glared at the bag, and then stood abruptly. "I'll be back."

"Percy," I said, sure he was going to do something stupid. "What are you—"

He disappeared into Medusa's office, completely ignoring me. He came back out to the picnic table with a packing box, and what looked like a delivery slip. Oh, gods.

He plopped her head into the box, and then filled out the slip, addressing it to Olympus.

"They're not going to like that," Grover said warily. "They'll think you're impertinent."

He ignored Grover, too, and shoved some drachmas into a pay pouch. He closed it, and there was a _cha-ching_ like an old-fashioned cash register, and the package floated off the table. It disappeared with a loud _pop_!

"I _am_ impertinent," he said. I was about to say something about it, but he glared at me, as if challenging me to. So I said nothing.

"Come on," I said. "We need a new plan."

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**Reviews appreciated! The next chapter will take a while longer to come out, as I already had this about 2/3 of the way done when I started actually posting this. **


	8. Grover Finds a Friend

**Hey there! This chapter is pretty short (since in the book, a good part of it is Percy/Grover talking, and Annabeth is asleep, so...) therefor, I could finish it a lot faster then I thought I could. It's not very eventful... Enjoy, though!**

**Disclaimer: Bah, you know this already! Do I have to say it every time. I don't own Perce and the gang, and I never will. *cries forever***

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**_- Chapter Eight: Grover Finds a Friend -_**

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The three of us trudged back out into the forest, settling down in swampy area that teenagers must have been using for parties, since there was an abundance of trash and cigarette butts on the ground. We flopped down on the ground with a bunch of blankets from Aunty Em's—we definitely weren't going to stay in that creepy warehouse. I didn't think I would be able to sleep with the statues looking at us all night.

Percy volunteered to take the first watch, and I didn't protest, even if he did look exhausted. I lied down on a blanket, bunching another one under my head like a pillow, and was asleep within moments.

I slipped into a dream.

I stood back at the wreckage from the bus accident on the Hudson. The fire department had put out the smoking wreckage, so I could see the bus clearly now. It had an enormous star-burst in the ceiling from where it'd been struck—the sides of it sizzling and blackened. The windows were shattered, leaving shards of glass all around in the grass. A news reporter and the police were the only ones around.

The news reporter babbled about the lighting strike, and how miraculous it was that everyone made it out, how there were no injuries, while the police milled around, inspecting the bus and putting things into evidence bags.

_Witnesses report the driver being unable to control the wheel of the bus, but there is no known evidence of mechanical problems..._

But I wasn't focused on that. In one of the trees near the wreckage, sat what appeared to be three ravens. But they flew down and landed at my feet, turning into the three, haggard old ladies that were the Furies.

"Hello, honey," Alecto, or better known to Percy as Mrs. Dodds, said.

"What do you want?" I asked. "We don't have anything you need."

"Oh, contrary," she said. "Hades knows what you're hiding."

"We're not hiding anything! We just want to get the Master Bolt for Zeus," I told them.

The three old ladies cackled in harmony. "We shall see, Annabeth. Until then, we await in the Underworld... patiently. That is, if you make it here alive."

The three old ladies turned into ravens again, and I woke from my dream. Grover sat in a tree, his back to the trunk, quietly playing notes on his reed pipes. Percy was asleep on the blankets next to mine. The sun was just beginning to rise up over the trees.

"Sleep well?" Grover asked.

I shrugged. "The Furies were taunting me. Nothing I can't handle." I stood up from the blankets, stretched, and yawned loudly. Grover hopped down from the tree.

"I'm gonna go do some exploring. I'll see if there's anything around," Grover said. I nodded. "Keep watch, will you? Whistle if you need me." I gave him a thumbs up, and he disappeared into the trees. I sat back down beside Percy.

He was shivering in his sleep, his skin a gaunt white. The muscles in his face were drawn tightly, and he overall didn't look very good. I figured he was probably having a nightmare, since demigods tend to get those a lot. He mumbled something incomprehensible in his sleep.

I sighed softly and reached over, gently pulling the blanket he was sleeping under up his shoulders and to his chin. He still didn't stop shivering.

I frowned at him, and the reclined back into a tree trunk, eating chips from Medusa's snack bar and watching the sun rise up over the trees and into the sky. Now that the sun was up, I could see farther through the forest. I could see the edges of the highway peeking through the trees, and the Hudson river, and what also appeared to be a set of train tracks. Birds flitted around in the trees, calling to each other in the morning. Then, came the not-so-scenic sound of Grover crashing through the trees and into the clearing.

He burst into the light, cradling something dirty, pink, and fuzzy in his arms. He flopped down on one of the blankets nearby. I raised my eyebrows.

"Is that a poodle?" I asked.

"You bet!" Grover said. "He's going to help us. Say hi to Gladiola."

"Hey, Gladiola," I said, even though it felt pretty stupid saying hello to a pink poodle. "Should I wake Percy?"

Grover nodded. I looked back over at Percy, who was still shivering. I gently grabbed his shoulder, and shook him a little. His eyes opened, squinting in the sunlight.

"Well," I said, "the zombie lives."

He sat up stiffly, still shaking a little. "How long was I asleep?"

"Long enough for me to cook breakfast," I said as I tossed him a bag of corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. He popped them open without question. "And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."

Percy squinted at Gladiola, frowning a little. I didn't understand what kind of help we could get from a dirty pink poodle, either.

It barked at Percy, even though it was more like a yipping sound. Grover told him, "No, he's not."

Percy blinked hard. "Are you... talking to that thing?"

The poodle growled at him.

"This _thing_," Grover scolded, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."

"You can talk to animals?" Percy asked.

Grover didn't answer. "Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy."

Percy stared at me, raising his eyebrows as if to say _Is this a joke?_ I stared back, keeping my face absolutely serious.

"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle," Percy decided. "Forget it."

"Percy," I warned. "I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."

Gladiola growled at Percy. He said hello.

Grover told both of us about how he'd found the poodle in the woods, and they'd started talking. Apparently, there was a two-hundred dollar reward on Gladiola. He had graciously decided to help us out. Apparently, Gladiola was more help then I thought she would be.

"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" Percy asked.

"He read the signs," Grover stated. "Duh."

"Of course," Percy said sarcastically. "Silly me."

"So we turn in Gladiola," I explained, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."

Percy gave me a wary look. "Not another bus."

"No," I affirmed. I pointed down to the train tracks that were peaking through the trees. "There's an Amtrack station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the west-bound train leaves at noon."

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**Do I spy a Percabeth moment in there? Why yes, I do! ;)**

**The next chapter will take longer to type up, especially since I'm going to start working on some other fanfics that I've... uh, abandoned. But either way, hope you liked! And if you did, tell me you did! Nag me! Lol...**


	9. We Go Sightseeing

**Hi! And here is chapter nine! This chapter is actually a combination of chapters 13 & 14 in the original Lightning Thief book, since chapter fourteen is really short and mostly Percy talking to the river spirit. There wasn't a really good place to break, anyways.**

**Sorry it took a while to get out, but I was lacking motivation. Artist's block. :( Now, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO.**

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**_- Chapter Nine: We Go Sightseeing -_**

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We stayed on the train for the next two days, traveling towards a stop in Denver, since we hadn't had enough money to get all the way to Los Angeles. Nothing attacked us—maybe because we were moving?—but nobody seemed to relax much. Seeing the Furies and Medusa in one day had pretty much diminished everyone's sense of calm.

Percy was probably the most jumpy of all of us. Not only was he cautious about monsters, but about the mortals, too. His picture was everywhere, on the front of most of the major news papers, and all over the news. He was New York's latest story.

"Don't worry," I told him, trying to cheer him up some. "Mortal police could never find us."

At night, we had to sleep in our seats, which wasn't easy with Grover sitting next to us. He kept shuffling around in his sleep, kicking my shins, and bleating. I wondered what a satyr could be dreaming about to make him so restless.

After Grover kicked my shin for the fifth time, I gave up sleeping. I just pulled out my architecture book, and settled as comfortably as I could get into my seat. But as I tried to read, my heart wasn't in it. The train kept bumping around too much, making it hard for me to keep my place. So I put down my book, and just closed my eyes.

I could hear Grover snoring and bleating on one side of me, and Percy breathing as he slept on my other side. He had fallen asleep against the window, and luckily he wasn't drooling this time. That would've been gross.

He shivered in his sleep and muttered, "I won't help you..."

I raised my eyebrows. I leaned a little closer to listen to his mumblings, when I felt Grover's fake foot collide with my shin again. It hit me so hard it popped off.

I accidentally elbowed Percy, and he jerked awake. Percy held Grover's foot still while I put his fake foot back on before any of the mortals noticed. I wondered how we could explain _that_ to someone...

"So," I asked Percy, once we'd both settled back into our seats. "Who wants your help?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"

He pulled back, and I was about to just drop it, but he finally told told me about his dreams. Something in a pit... wanting to use Percy to get out? A chill rolled down my back. It didn't really sound like Hades... but no. It _had_ to be Hades.

"That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs," I said.

"He offered my mother in trade," Percy countered. "Who else could do that?"

"I guess... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

He shook his head, knowing as much as I did. I hated not knowing what was going on. It was driving me crazy, not knowing if we were even doing the right thing. But something was definitely off on this quest.

Grover muttered something about vegetables, and rolled in his sleep. I readjusted his cap. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"

"This time?" he asked. I wish I hadn't let that slip. "You mean you've run into them before?"

I fingered the pine tree bead on my necklace. I remembered the Furies all right, and I remembered Thalia, too. How Hades had taken her life, just because of who her father was. I wondered how he could possibly be that bitter. Sure, she was against the oath, but that wasn't her fault. Why had he needed to kill her?

"Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."

"What would you do if it was your dad?" I wished he hadn't asked that question. I hated my father. But I'd give him the truth, anyways.

"That's easy," I said. My mouth tasted like metal. "I'd leave him to rot."

"You're not serious?"

I turned to look at him, my expression tight. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy. He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."

"But how... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."

"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."

Percy looked out of the window. I remembered their wedding, and how nice my stepmom was to me before it. But the second they'd gotten married, she started treating me like an alien. Like I didn't belong. I'd felt terrible living with her.

"My mom married a really awful guy," Percy said quietly. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."

I kept fingering my father's ring. I appreciated his attempt to make me feel better, but I highly doubted it. As much as I wished that was true—that he actually did care about me, somehow—I knew it wasn't. That small wish, my hope that he might, one day, was the only reason I wore the ring. Otherwise, I hated it.

"He doesn't care about me," I finally said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."

"How old were you?"

"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."

"But... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."

I internally winced. "Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."

I stared my lap, remembering how Thalia had taken care of me. She'd been like a sister, the first person who'd actually loved me in my life, other then Luke. I missed her almost everyday. I had never had been able to repay her for everything she'd done for me.

I didn't really want to talk to Percy anymore. I closed my eyes, and drifted off in my seat. For some reason, I was able to fall asleep now. Maybe talking helped. I hadn't ever told anyone about my dad like that—not Luke, or Grover. They never really asked.

On the evening of our second day, we passed into St. Louis. I looked past Percy so I could see the Gateway Arch, kind of shoving him out of my way a little. I'd wanted to see the Gateway Arch for a while, but I never left camp, so it wasn't really possible. I loved looking at landmarks.

I looked at the Arch wistfully. "I want to do that."

"What?" Percy asked. Grover was dozing in his seat.

"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"

"Only in pictures." I found myself a little surprised he knew what it was.

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."

Percy laughed lightly. "You? An architect?"

I blushed a little. I didn't see why he'd find it funny. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

His joking mood disappeared. He just stared out of the window at the Mississippi river.

"Sorry," I said, hating to have made his slightly happier mood disappear. "That was mean."

"Can't we work together a little?" he begged. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"

It took me a moment, but I did remember _one_ instance. "I guess... the chariot," I admitted. "My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."

"Then we can cooperate, too. Right?" he asked.

I watched the Gateway Arch disappear behind a building. I guess it wasn't impossible... after all, I was the one making it hard. He was trying to be friendly, at least.

"I suppose," I finally said.

Our train pulled into the station in St. Louis. It was announced that there would be a three-hour layover before the train continued on to Denver. I nudged Grover.

He stretched, and murmured, "Food," before he was even completely awake.

"Come on, goat boy," I said as people started getting up to unload. "Sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?" Grover asked.

"The Gateway Arch," I said happily. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"

Percy and Grover exchanged a glance. _Please_, I thought internally. I really, _really_ wanted to go see the Arch.

Finally, Grover shrugged. "As longer as there's a snack bar without monsters."

We left the train station, and went to the Arch, about a mile away. First, we went through the museum below it, looking at the tools that were used to build the Arch, and some artifacts from around the time the Arch was built. I was telling Percy and Grover facts about the Arch—it was designed by Eero Saarinen and Hannskarl Bandel, opened to the public in 1967—but I didn't really think they were listening. They were just eating jellybeans and trying to look like they were doing something. I didn't care. I was absolutely ecstatic.

Percy looked uneasy, though. "You smell anything?" he asked Grover.

Grover sniffed, and then frowned. "Underground. Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

Percy didn't look so sure. "Guys," he murmured. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

I had been reading about some of the construction equipment they'd been using to build the Arch, and how it was operated, but I looked up anyways. He sounded worried. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—"

Grover coughed. "We're in a public place," he said quietly. Leave it up to Seaweed Brain to sound like a lunatic in front of the mortals. "You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"Um, right," Percy said, the blood rushing to his face. "Our friend _way_ downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

I frowned. "You mean the Helm of Darkness," I said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" he asked.

I nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus—the darkest say of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful then my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover agreed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" Percy said.

Grover glanced at me. "We don't."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Percy mumbled. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"

Finally, we got to the elevators to the top of the Arch. They were small, but it didn't bother me very much. I wasn't claustrophobic. Percy, on the other hand, didn't seem so enthusiastic.

We were ushered into an elevator with a plump lady and her dog, a little yipping Chihuahua wearing a rhinestone collar. I didn't understand why people would spend money on their dogs like that, but whatever. None of the guards seemed to bother her about the dog, either. Maybe they were allowed.

The woman wore an ugly blue-jean dress, and a floppy denim hat. Her teeth were yellowed and stained—not to mention pointy.

We started going up, and Percy gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white. He turned a little green.

The woman studied us, not making me feel any more comfortable. "No parents?" she asked.

"They're below," I lied swiftly. "Scared of heights." It looked like Percy fit the bill more.

"Oh, the poor darlings."

Her dog growled. "Now, now, sonny. Behave," the fat woman chided. The dog looked vicious, like it should have been put down.

"Sonny," Percy murmured. "Is that his name?"

"No," she said, smiling at us. Percy shifted closer to Grover and I. The woman was making me feel uncomfortable, too.

Finally, we got up top to the observation deck. It was a small room, with little windows looking out on either side of the Arch, and metal walls with plush red carpet. Percy looked pretty uncomfortable with the whole situation. Of course, a son of Poseidon would be afraid of heights.

I told Grover and Percy about how I would've made the windows a lot bigger—they were hard to see out of—and made a see-through floor so you could see the river below. It would've been a lot more intriguing then a dark room with a few windows. While I was still trying to decide how they designed the supports to keep the Arch up, a park ranger announced the observation deck would be closing in a little bit.

Percy steered us towards the elevator a little too enthusiastically, and Grover and I stepped in with a couple of other tourists. But there was no room for Percy.

"Next car, sir," the ranger said.

"We'll get out," I said quickly. I didn't want to leave Percy behind—especially because he had already been nervous about staying up on the Arch, already. "We'll wait with you."

He looked nervous, but said, "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."  
Even though I strongly disagreed with it, Grover and I let the doors close. We started to descend back down the Arch.

"We shouldn't have left him," Grover said quietly.

"I know," I said. "He'll be alright... I think."

Suddenly, the Arch shook. Everyone in the elevator had to grab onto the railing to keep from getting tossed onto the floor.

Grover gulped. "I don't think so."

As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Grover and I leaped out onto the street. Fire trucks, ambulances, police cruisers, and any other emergency response vehicle you could think of was outside. News reporters were scattered around, doing various reports on the story.

"Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told..."

"Terrorist attack?" I murmured to Grover. We both stopped at the edge of the river and looked upwards. There, at the top of the Arch, there was a hole in the bottom of the observation deck. Right where we'd been earlier.

"Oh gods," Grover murmured, shuffling nervously. "No... he's not dead. Can't be."

I gripped Grover's shoulder. "I..." I didn't know what to say. He might be dead. No, our quest can't end now! Percy can't be... My throat clogged. Who cares about the quest! I didn't want Percy to die.

Grover and I started walking around the police perimeter, trying to figure out what the heck to do, until we saw him. He was skirting around police officers and news reporters, trying to look inconspicuous. The edges of his shirt were singed, and he had a couple scrapes, but otherwise, he was fine. I felt a surge of relief.

"Perrr-cy!" Grover bleated, and ran into him, tackling him into a hug. "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"

I stood behind Grover, trying to be mad for him worrying us, but in reality, I was just glad that he was okay. "We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"

"I sort of fell," he said.

"Percy!" I said. "Six hundred and thirty feet?" How in Hades had he survived?

Just as I was about to ask him, a cop shouted "Gangway!" He was walking with a couple paramedics who were wheeling a woman on a stretcher, even though she looked fine. I recognized her from the Arch, she had been waiting up at the top with Percy. "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua—"

"Okay, ma'am," one of the paramedics said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."

"I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and then monster disappeared." She locked eyes with Percy. "There he is! That's the boy!"

Percy quickly backed away, dragging Grover and I along with him so that the three of us disappeared into the crowd of people.

I asked, "What's going on? Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"

Percy quickly explained his encounter with Echidna and Chimera, jumping off of the Arch, and then talking to the ocean spirit in the river.

"Whoa," Grover said, astonished. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."

I opened my mouth to say something, but we passed another news reporter. "Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that they boy who may have caused his explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."

Percy dragged us into an alley and away from the news vans. "First things first," he told us. "We've got to get out of town!"

We used the alleys and backstreets, and by some rare streak of luck, managed to get back onto the train without getting spotted by the authorities. I only relaxed once the train headed out of St. Louis, bringing us away from the Arch, and closer to the Underworld.

Looks like Percy was a celebrity now.

* * *

**Did this one portray Annabeth's thoughts better? I think so. I hope you like it!**

**P.S. I also edited the first chapter and removed some of the fluff while Percy's unconscious. It didn't seem... right. So, re-read the first chapter if you're interested in seeing the changes. Thanks! :)**


	10. Eight Legged Monstrosities

**Hi! This is Innoverse! Sorry the chapter took so long... but it's quite a doozy. Don't kill me! Haha. But this is a pretty good chapter, with a nice Percabeth touch. *grins* I added some extra details, too. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Seaweed Brain, Wise Girl, or Goat Boy. :)**

* * *

**_- Chapter Ten: Eight Legged Monstrosities -_**

* * *

Our train rolled into Denver the next afternoon. The three of us stumbled off, feeling exhausted and hungry since we hadn't eaten since somewhere back in Kansas. Not to mention we were quite smelly, since we hadn't had a shower since Half-Blood Hill. But still, I kind of wanted to tell Chiron my suspicions about this quest. Maybe he'd understand it.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," I told Percy and Grover. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"We can't use phones right?" No, seaweed brain, I _want_ more monsters to come after us.

"I'm not talking about phones."

I continued leading them throughout down-town Denver, looking for somewhere to make a rainbow for an Iris message. Maybe I could find a store that sells prisms? No, we're nearly broke. Maybe there was a fountain around somewhere? No, Denver didn't seem to have any fountains on the street, even if it _was_ a thousand degrees outside. It must be so humid because of the Rocky Mountains... they must not get a lot of rain because of the rain shadow...*

Finally, I spotted an old do-it-yourself car wash, and led the boys towards one of the empty stalls—the one farthest from the street, so that less mortals saw us. It's already shifty when you have three kids in a car wash who don't own a car, but even more so when one of them is a fugitive.

Grover grabbed the spray gun from the side of the car wash. Percy frowned. "What exactly are we doing?"

"It's seventy-five cents," Grover mumbled as he dug through his pockets. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

I shook my head. "Don't look at me. The dining car wiped me out."

Percy pulled a fist-full of change out of his pocket—a quarter, two nickels, and a drachma. He handed the quarter to Grover, even though he clearly still had no idea what was going on.

"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

He put the quarters into the slot and turned the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."

Percy's eyebrows scrunched. "Instant messaging?" I resisted the urge to sigh.

"_Iris_-messaging," I told him. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?" Well, when you put it like _that_...

Grover squeezed the spray gun and a veil of mist squirted out. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow." Light reflected off the water droplets, and the colors fanned out into a rainbow.

I held my out to Percy. "Drachma, please."

He handed it to me, and I raised it up a little. "O goddess, accept our offering." I tossed the drachma in, and it disappeared in the rainbow. "Half-Blood Hill."

The mist shimmered. Camp Half-Blood appeared, first the fields of strawberries, and then the Big House. It shimmered right onto a place on the porch. There was someone standing there—but it wasn't Chiron. It was a teenager, wearing an orange tank top and shorts, holding a sword, with sandy blonde hair and... oh gods. It was _Luke_.

"Luke!" Percy called, to get his attention.

He turned, and I felt my heart do a little flip. "Percy!" he said, grinning. _Of course_, the bitter part of me thought. _He acknowledges Percy first._ "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

"We're... uh... fine," I said, not-so-smoothly. I suddenly realized how bad I must look, so I started trying to comb the dirt out of my hair and straighten my t-shirt. I still looked like a mess. "We thought—Chiron—I mean—"

"He's down at the cabins," Luke said, shutting off his smile. "We're having issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"

"I'm right here," Grover said, turning the nozzle and stepping into Luke's view. "What kind of issues?"

Right at that moment, an enormous Lincoln Continental pulled into the stall right next to ours, blasting their hip-hop on their stereo. It was so loud it shook the pavement a little.

"Chiron had to—what's that noise?" Luke yelled, trying to make himself heard over the music.

"I'll take care of it!" I yelled a little too quickly. I really wanted to get out of sight, I didn't want to be seen like this in front of Luke. "Grover, come on!"

"What?" Grover said, looking confused. "But—"

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" Grover handed Percy the spray gun and followed me, muttering something about girls under his breath.

We rounded the corner, and saw some guy, just sitting in his car, blasting his music. I rolled my eyes, and went up to the car, and knocked on the glass of the driver's side window. The guy completely ignored me. I pounded again, this time harder. He still didn't move. How could you _not_ see someone right up in your window? I slammed my hand onto the glass and shouted, "HEY!"

The guy looked up then, and angrily rolled down his window. "Hey, you're gonna break my window!"

"Then why don't you look up when I'm trying to get your attention?" I shouted.

"I couldn't hear you!"

"Because you're blasting your music loud enough for the whole state to here it!"

"Oh yeah," he said, leaning a little ways out of the window. "Why do you care, kid?"

"Because we don't want to hear your music," Grover shouted at him. "Shut it off!"

"I'm not gonna listen to a couple of kids," he said, about to roll up the window.

I leaned down it into his face, giving him my hardest glare. "Turn it down."

"Fine, fine," he sighed, and turned the music down so that it wasn't shaking the pavement anymore. "Happy, little miss princess?"

I drew my knife from my shirtsleeve. "You did _not_ just call me princess."

His mouth dropped open, and he screamed, pealing out of the car wash stall as fast as he could hit the peddle. I smirked and shoved my knife back into the sheath.

Grover laughed. "Did you see his face?"

"I know, right?" I responded as we walked back into the other stall where Percy was. We both stopped laughing when we saw the blank and confused expression on his face.

"What happened, Percy?" I asked. "What did Luke say?"

"Not much," he said, though it looked like a lie. "Come on, let's find some dinner." My stomach agreed with that proposal.

Percy ushered us into a diner, and we sat down at a booth like we actually had money to pay for the meal. I didn't know what he was going to do this time, but it better be good.

A waitress came over, looking at us skeptically. "Well?"

"We, um, want to order dinner," Percy told her.

"You kids have money to pay for it?"

We all looked at each other, everyone looking completely tired and hungry. Grover looked like he was going to start eating to booth seat, and Percy and I were about to pass out. Percy looked like he was trying to figure out what to tell the waitress when an enormous rumbling sound shook the entire diner.

All conversation stopped. Everyone looked over to see a biker, pulling into the parking lot on an enormous bike, complete with red headlights, shotgun holsters, and flames painted on the side. The seat looked like it was made out of human skin, which was more then a little disturbing.

The biker was a large, muscular man with a jet black crew cut and a scarred, brutal face. He wore a black duster over top a red muscular shirt and black jeans. There was a hunting knife strapped to his thigh, and he wore red wraparound sunglasses over his eyes. I recognized him, all right—Ares, the god of war. The only god I hated more then Poseidon.

Everyone in in the restaurant stood as Ares walked in, but he waved his hand and there all sat back down again. Their conversations continued, as if nothing had happened. The waiter repeated, "You kids have the money to pay for it?"

"It's on me," Ares said, sliding into our booth, even though it was too small. He pushed me over towards the window, and that didn't make me happy at all. I wanted to kick him—but that was probably just his aura. Or maybe not.

He looked at the waiter, who was still staring at him. "Are you still here?"

He pointed at her, and she stiffened and turned away, walking as if she were being pushed away from the table. Then, Ares swung his gaze over to Percy and grinned. Uh oh.

"So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" he asked.

Percy glared at him, flexing his fingers as if he wanted to punch him. "What's it to you?"

I tried to warn him not to get on Ares bad side. "Percy, this is—"

Ares raised his hand, cutting me off before I could finish. Did I mention that I _hate_ being interrupted?

"S'okay," Ares said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

Realization passed through Percy's eyes as he look Ares over. "You're Clarisse's dad," he reasoned. "Ares, god of war."

Ares grinned and took off his shades, exposing the tiny nuclear explosions instead of his eyes. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

When Ares called Percy punk, he looked ready to rip him limb from limb. But instead, he just said, "She was asking for it."

"Probably. That's cool," Ares said, shrugging it off. "I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for—I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."

The waitress came back out and set a tray of food—burgers, fries, milkshakes—on the table. Ares handed her a few gold drachmas, which she looked at nervously. "But, these aren't..."

Ares pulled his hunting knife off his thigh and started cleaning his nails. "Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress swallowed nervously and took the gold. Percy looked at Ares incredulously.

"You can't do that," he protested. "You cant just threaten people with a knife."

Ares laughed cruelly. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor could I do for a god?" he asked.

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little... date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."

Percy glared at him. "Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"

The little explosions in Ares' eye sockets became a little brighter. "Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned down into Percy's face. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."

I didn't need to read emotions to be able to tell Percy was about to strangle him—which would've been nice except for the fact that we really didn't any more enemies at the moment. I didn't really want Ares to turn him into a rodent, either.

I reached under the table and put my hand on Percy's knee to stop him. He let out of short sigh and sat back in his seat. "We're not interested. We've already got a quest."

Ares frowned. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that _item_ was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't stiff out a weapons that powerful..." He licked his lips, which looked kind of disgusting. "Well... if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "You told him Hades stole the bolt?"

"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."

"Thanks," Percy grumbled sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm a generous guy," he said. I resisted the urge to laugh. "Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."

"We're doing fine on our own," Percy snapped, even thought we all knew that wasn't true. We were broke, with no food, no ride, and no other way of help. As much as I absolutely _loathed_ the prospect of doing something for Ares, we needed to.

"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."

Percy's expression softened immediately. "My mom?"

Ares grinned at him. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

"What interrupted your date?" Percy mocked. "Something scare you off?"

Ares scowled at him, but I'd seen that scowl a million times on Clarisse. It was just to cover up their fear, most of the time. "You're luck you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

Ares snapped his fingers and Percy's eyes fluttered shut, and he slumped down into his seat. Ares disappeared from the booth in a puff of smoke. Percy's eyes opened again, and he sat up stiffly, rubbing his face.

"Not good," Grover said nervously. "Ares sough you out, Percy. This is not good."

Percy looked out the window, towards where Ares' motorcycle had been. He looked depressed and tired instead of angry now. I could tell the comment about his mother had gotten to him. He must miss her a lot.

"It's probably some kind of trick," he finally said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."

"We can't," I said, hating myself for admitting it. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't just ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."

His shoulders slumped. He stared down at his plate. "Why does he need us?"

"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," I suggested. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

"But this water park... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"

Grover and I exchanged a nervous glance. "I'm afraid we'll have to find out."

* * *

By the time we managed to find the old water park, the sun was already setting. The sign was broken, the lettering that once said 'WATERLAND' now said something like 'WATRAD.' The only entrance was a chain link fence, topped with barbed wire and locked. Old, worn-out rides spiraled around the park, dry tubes leading into empty pools. Old napkins and advertisements rustled around as the wind blew. It looked pretty sad.

Percy looked up at the fence. "If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date, I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Percy. Be more respectful," I scolded, even though that was like telling a fish to walk on land.

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover warned.

Percy snorted. "Who is she? Echidna?"

"No, Aphrodite," Grover said wistfully. I rolled my eyes. "Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to somebody," Percy pointed out. Ever heard of an affair?

"Hephaestus," I said.

"What's your point?" Grover asked.

"Oh," Percy said, shifting his weight a little. "So how do we get in?"

"_Maia!_" Grover's shoes grew wings, and he flew up and over the fence, turning a somersault, and then landing awkwardly on the other side. "You guys coming?"

Percy and I climbed up the chain links, holding the barbed wire out of the way for each other as we jumped over the top.

As we walked around the park, I couldn't help but notice how strange things were. No monsters came out of the shadows. Nothing even so much as moved. But I still had this bad feelings, like there was a slight chill in the air. I kept my hand on my dagger.

We stumbled across an old souvenir shop that they had failed to clean out. The shelves were still full of products—like cheap sunscreen, plastic sunglasses, post cards, and... I almost cried out in relief.

"Clothes," I told them. "Fresh clothes."

"Yeah," Percy said. "But you can't just—" And I thought _he_ was supposed to be the delinquent here.

"Watch me."

I pulled an entire row of clothing off the shelf, and shut myself in the changing room. I peeled off my grimy, sticky clothes and put on the fresh Waterland attire. It felt so good not to be waking around in nasty, disgusting clothes anymore. I shover some other stuff into a backpack I'd picked up—a bottle of sunscreen, some extra clothes, a red ball (though I didn't know how that would come in handy), and a pair of sunglasses. I came back out, looking like a walking billboard.

"What the heck," Grover said with a shrug. The boys grabbed some clothes and changed too, and we kept walking around, looking for the Tunnel of Love ride, like Ares had said. The park still felt creepy, and I kept getting chills. It was also getting darker, and I didn't want to stick around here in the dark.

"So Ares and Aphrodite," Percy muttered, looking around nervously, "they have a thing going?"

"That's old gossip, Percy," I said, even though it felt a little strange to be talking about relationships with him. "Three thousand-year-old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband?"

"Well, you know," I mumbled. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"

"She like bikers," he said a little dumbly.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

"Hephaestus knows?"

"Oh sure," I said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out of the way places, like..."

I stopped as I saw the ride in front of us. "Like that."

We stopped in front of an empty pool, almost bowl shaped, like a basin. Statues of cupid lined the rim of the pool, each of them holding a bow and arrow. There was a tunnel on the opposite to us, probably leading into the pool where the boats emptied into. The sign read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Grover looked over the edge. "Guys, look."

Down in the empty pool was a two-seater boat—decked out in pink and white, complete with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the seat to the left was a circle of polished bronze—Ares' shield.

Something was definitely fishy about this.

"This is too easy," Percy said nervously. "So we just walk down there and get it?"

I looked at the closest Cupid statue, and noticed something unusual. I ran my fingers over the base. "There's a Greek letter carved here," I said. "Eta. I wonder..."

Why was there a Greek letter carved in an abandoned theme park?

"Grover," Percy asked, "you smell any monsters?"

Grover sniffed. "Nothing."

"Nothing—like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?" Percy accused, obviously still miffed about having to fall six-hundred and thirty feet. I didn't really blame him.

Grover sniffled. "I told you, that was underground."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Percy apologized, running a hand through his eternally messy hair. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you," Grover declared, even though he didn't really look like he wanted to. Maybe he just wanted to make it up to Percy because of the Arch.

"No," Percy said. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

Grover looked much more satisfied with that idea. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling," Percy said. I felt the same way. "Annabeth, come with me—"

I realized what he was asking and turned bright red. There was no way I was going down there with... _him_. That would be so embarrassing! Not in a million years... "Are you kidding me?"

"What's the problem now?" he asked irritably, completely oblivious to my discomfort.

"Me, go with you to the... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

"Who's going to see you?" he asked, even though he had a light blush covering his face, too. He just puffed out his cheeks, and turned back to the ride. "Fine. I'll do it myself." But I followed him anyways, knowing that if he went alone, he'd screw something up.

"Leave to a boy to mess everything up..." I muttered under my breath.

We walked up to the boat, and looked down. There was the shield in one seat, and pink scarf in the other—probably Aphrodite's. Now that we were down in the bottom of the pool, I could see that there were a bunch of mirrors lining the inside of the tunnel, so you could see yourself any way you looked. We looked pretty bedraggled.

Percy picked up the scarf, and looked at it for a second, before getting this weird, dreamy smile. He was about to rub it against his cheek, but I snatched it out of his hand and put it in my pocket. There was no telling what it'd do to him, and since I was the closest female... "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."

"What?" he asked, sounding a little dazed.

I sighed. "Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."

Percy reached down for the shield, and I looked at the boat. I realized something else strange... what was that doing there?

Percy was looking from the shield to his hand strangely when I said, "Wait."

"Too late," he muttered.

"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."

Just then, noise erupted around us, like the sound of clanging gears. "Guys!" Grover yelled.

The cupid statues pulled their bows taunt, and then fired across the bowl, leaving a trail of silky strands like the ones Percy had broken on the shield. The strings started weaving together, forming a huge golden net over the pool.

"We have to get out," Percy pointed out nervously.

"Duh!" I yelled.

Percy grabbed the shield, and we started trying to go up the edge of the pool. It was a lot harder going up then going down.

"Come on!" Grover shouted. He was trying to hold the net open for us, but the net kept wrapping around his hands, trying to trap him.

Suddenly, all the cupids heads popped up, and video cameras became visible. Spotlights also rose out, as well. A loud speaker broadcasted: "Live to Olympus in one minute... Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight..."

"Hephaestus!" I screamed. I couldn't believe I hadn't figured this out earlier. "I'm so stupid! Eta is 'H.' He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"

We were almost at the rim, when the rows of mirrors opened, and thousands of little metallic _things_ streamed out, heading right for us.

I screamed and lost my grip, sliding back down into the pool. "Spiders! Sp—sp—aaaah!"

The little creatures started crawling on me, and I screamed louder, swiping wildly, trying to get them away from me. I felt Percy lock his arms under my armpits and pull me up into the boat, kicking the spiders away with his foot. I clambered into the seat, screaming as Percy kicked spiders away and yelled for help. I hated spiders so much... they were the only thing that I really feared.

Vaguely, I heard the loudspeakers. "Thirty, twenty-nine."

The spiders started spitting out the little silky strings, trying to tie us down, but Percy was breaking the strings and trying to kick them away, while I cowered behind him, screaming and clutching his pant leg. He looked around desperately, trying to find a way to get us out, since I wasn't doing much more then screaming.

"Grover!" he yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"

"But—"

"Do it!" The spiders were slowly overtakign the boat. I kept screaming louder, while Grover was desperately flicking switches, trying to turn the water on._ Water_, the back of my brain that wasn't focused on the spiders thought. _Good thinking, Seaweed Brain. _

"Five, four—"

Grover shrugged helplessly. Percy closed his eyes, and tried to focus.

"Two, one,_ zero_!"

Suddenly, water exploded out of the pipes from behind the mirrors. Percy pulled me into the seat and strapped me down just as a wave of water hit the boat, soaking us and washing away the spiders—much to my relief. We started rocketing down the ride, the corpses of the spiders floating around us as Percy focused on keeping the boat from smashing into the cement walls with his son-of-Poseidon powers.

I was aware of the spotlights shining down on us, and the cameras rolling, but I couldn't find it in myself to care at the moment. I just wanted to be on dry land again.

Suddenly, the boat launched itself into the darkness, and I grabbed Percy's t-shirt, pressing my face into his shoulder as we shot through the tunnel, the water carrying us much faster then it should've been. He wrapped his arms around me, and we both screamed as we shot around corners fast enough to squash us on impact.

Suddenly, we were back outside, where the sun had set, and we were rocketing towards the exit. But there was something wrong. The 'Gates of Love' (remind me to gag later) were chained shut. We were going to be grated against the fence.

"Unfasten your seat belt," Percy yelled above the wind that was whistling in our ears and ruffling our hair.

"Are you crazy?" I yelled back.

"Unless you want to get smashed to death," he said, hefting Ares shield with one arm. "We're going to have to jump for it."

As dangerous as it was, it was the only way. I held tightly onto his hand, wishing not to fall out and be smashed against the concrete. I wasn't thinking about how my mother was probably sitting on Olympus right now, seeing me holding a son of Poseidon's hand. Oh, I'm going to throw up.

"On my mark," he said, which I knew wasn't going to work.

"No! On my mark!"

"What?"

"Simple physics!" I yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle—"

"Fine!" he screamed back. "On _your_ mark!"

I waited for the right moment, trying to get us enough lift to be able to make it over the fence. Just before we hit, I shouted, "Now!"

CRACK!

Percy and I flew through the air, right over the gates, and—unfortunately—right onto the pavement. I'd overcompensated. We hadn't quite needed that much momentum. I said a silent prayer, hoping not to die like this. Then, I felt something grab my arm.

"Ouch!" It was Grover. He'd snagged Percy and I out of the air, trying to keep us from hitting the pavement too hard. But we had all of the force, and we were dragging Grover down.

"You're too heavy!" he shouted. "We're going down!"

The three of us crash landed into a photo-board, Grover's head going through one of the slots so he looked like Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale. Percy and I landed in a heap on the ground, me right on top of him. I scrambled off of him, and we pulled Grover out of the photo-board and thanked him for saving us.

We looked over and saw the Cupids still aimed at us, filming, with the spotlights bearing down on us in the dark. Percy glared at them.

"Show's over!" he yelled angrily. "Thank you! Good night!"

The cameras shut off, and the cupid swiveled back to their original positions. The water stopped flowing in the tunnel, slowing down to just a trickle.

We'd been tricked, and then broadcast as some kind of joke. And now, all of the gods had seen me screaming like a little girl, and holding onto Percy. I wanted to melt into the dirt.

Percy turned towards us, pulling Ares' shield up on one arm. His expression was downright murderous. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."

* * *

***I actually looked this up. Denver does, in fact, happen to be in the Rocky Mountains rain shadow, thus making it drier from the lack of rain. I just thought I'd add a little Annabeth 'smarty ****pants' thinking... haha.**

**Phew! That was a LONG chapter. And I mean, like, 5k+ words _long_. That's why it took so long to get out. I'll have the next chapter ready faster, I promise! Haha.**

**This chapter had a quite of a bit of Percabeth... teehee! I love adding little details like that, where Riordan doesn't quite describe things. Even if Annabeth does act disgusted. She's just in denial! You know you want your Seaweed Brain, Annie!**

**Anyways, I'd really like some reviews. Do it for Percabeth! :)**


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